Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness
by Assassin master ezio 91
Summary: A year after a tragic event, nine friends return to Blackwood Pines for a reunion, only to find things are not what they seem, a strange killer is on the loose and a bigger threat, looms in the shadows. Meanwhile, affairs of the heart threaten to tear the group apart, old bonds are challenged, fresh ones form, what will become of those who fall apart, will any survive?
1. Grant Profile

Another new Until Dawn story for me, this one is a little different again, some characters roles will be slightly different and what not. Most prominently, the pairings involved, one of which, involves the OC character shown below. This is his profile more or less, so anyway, hope you enjoy it :)

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Name: Grant Hughes  
Age: 19

Appearance: Tall; messy medium length dark brown hair; dyed blue; brown eyes; pale skin; toned build; a bird of prey tattoo down his back and covering his arms too.

Personality: A young man who enjoys life; never one to turn down a chance to party, he has something of a bad-boy edge; however, he is also capable of deep compassion and kindness, especially when other people are hurting.

 **Traits:**

Honesty: 4/10

Charitable: 4/10

Funny: 6/10

Brave: 5/10

Romantic: 5/10

Curious: 7/10

 **Relationships with Others:**

Chris: 6/10

Ashley: 5/10

Josh: 5/10

Sam: 6/10

Mike: 6/10

Jess: 6/10

Emily: 4/10

Matt: 4/10

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So, that's our OC for this story, next up will be the first chapter, the Prologue plays out as you might expect, with Grant taking part in the prank against Hannah, hiding alongside Ashley, so we're starting with the group coming to the lodge at the start of the main game.


	2. Sam I

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Okay, first proper chapter of this story, going to be doing this story in first person, should help me put things in a bit more depth. Won't really see much in the first few chapters, but the characters thoughts and feelings really start to come out, starting next chapter. This is just settling in to begin the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

SAM POV

I sighed as I sat, looking out at the snow falling from the night sky. The dark forest outside loomed almost menacingly. I brushed a small strand of my blonde hair that had escaped my bun, back, tucking it under my hat. I returned my attention to my iPod, which was playing a radio show in which a local sheriff was talking.

They were talking about the horrible incident that had occurred a year ago. I, along with my friends, had been involved in that incident. We had gone to visit the Ski Lodge located on Blackwell Pines Mountain, owned by the Washington family, invited by our friend Josh, the eldest son of the film maker Bob Washington and his wife Melinda.

Following a cruel prank played by my friends on Josh's younger sister Hannah, she and her twin sister Beth had disappeared. That had been a full year ago.

' _Now Josh has invited us back up to the lodge, on the anniversary of the disappearance too.'_ I noted to myself. _'I don't get it; I just, what's going on in his head...I'm worried about him still.'_

I couldn't help it, Josh had been very despondent following his sister's disappearance; I had done what I could to try and help him, one of only two of the group that did.

With a sigh I switched off the radio talk and again played the message from Josh, the invite he had sent out.

"Hello friends and fans." Josh greeted on the video, before shaking his head. "Let's try that again."

He stepped forwards and adjusted the camera before stepping back into shot.

Smiling widely he spoke again. "Hello friends and fans. It is beyond awesome to have to have all you guys all back this year."

I bit my lip, watching carefully; something about Josh's attitude in the video made me feel worried for him.

"First of all, I've gotta say I am super excited to welcome back all my pals back to the annual Blackwood winter getaway." He explained before doing a mock cheer similar to a live audience in a TV show.

I continued to watch, glancing up to check where she was.

I had to admit, it still worried me that I couldn't be sure how Josh had been coping throughout the year; he had been saying he was fine, but it always felt, to me, that he was hiding something.

' _It also doesn't help that Chris and I were the only ones to really stay in touch with Josh afterwards.'_ I reflected sadly.

The video was still ongoing and I listened more. "So um...let me just take a moment to address the 'elephant in the room' so to speak. I know you're probably all worried about me and I know it's gonna be tough on all of us going back; after what happened last year."

He pause for a moment before smiling again and continuing. "I know it would mean so much to Hannah and Beth that we're all still together. Thinking of them."

I knew that, officially, Hannah and Beth were still missing, but it was pretty obvious to all but the most optimistic they were dead.

"I really want to spend some quality time with each and every one of you and share some moments we'll never forget." He explained. "So, let's party like we're fucking pron stars, okay?"

He laughed and the video ended; I smiled lightly and put my iPhone away, removing the headphones before standing up and moving towards the front of the bus. I quickly spoke to the driver.

"This is my stop here." I said.

The driver nodded and stopped and I disembarked from the bus. With a sigh I looked around as the snow gently swirled around her.

I was grateful I had dressed for the weather; in a purple long-sleeved shirt, a black leather jacket wrapped with a lipstick-red thick scarf around her neck, gray boots with white trimmings, a fur hat and a red plaid skirt along with black tights.

As the bus pulled off I began to walk up the path heading for the cable car station which would take up the mountain, closer to the lodge, I knew the others would be arriving, or already here. As I began to take a step forwards, I heard a distinctive noise, it sounded like a twig snapping and I could swear I could hear heavy breathing.

"Hello?" I called out, looking around worried. "Someone there?"

No response, the noises stopped; shaking my head and feeling paranoid suddenly I began to walk up the path, my boots crunching through the snow. It did not take me long to reach the gate; I reached out a hand to open it but stopped.

' _Huh, what's this?'_ I wondered, spotting a note attached to the gate.

I picked it up and read it. _"The gate is busted, climb over. Chris."_

I sighed and shook my head. "Oh man."

Looking around I finally spotted a possible section of wall I could scale to my left. I walked over and immediately began climbing, going as quickly as I could. I stopped for a moment, looking up and judging the distance.

Taking the risk I jumped up, grabbing the top edge of the wall. I pulled myself up with a grunt and once on top, deftly leapt down, bending my knees to absorb the impact. I straightened up, smiling once I was on the other side and resumed my walk.

I glanced around again, sure I heard something, I had a strange feeling that something, or some _one_ was watching me. I brushed the feeling off however, stopping when I saw something else.

Smiling I squatted down, gently lifting up a small pile of nuts and holding out my hand, with the nuts on them.

"Hey, cute little squirrel." I said quietly. "C'mon, it's alright."

I stayed as still as possible until the squirrel came up and took the nuts from my hand before scampering off.

Straightening up I laughed softly. "Cutie."

"Yo Sam!"

I started and turned quickly; it was then I saw him approaching, a young man the same age as me, tall with messy medium length hair, dark brown in color usually but he had dyed it blue. He also had brown eyes, pale skin and a toned build.

While not visible due to his clothes; I also knew, as did just about everybody else in our group, that he had a tattoo of a bird of prey covering his entire back and down his arms.

He was dressed in dark jeans, a black T-shirt with a skull design on it, a dark gray hoodie and leather jacket, both unzipped; black snow boots and a black beanie covered his hair.

I recognized him at once as another friend of mine, Grant Hughes.

Grinning I approached him.

"Hey Grant, what's up?"

Grant shrugged nonchalant. "Ah, nothin' much, was out here...basking in nature's wonders."

I raised an eyebrow. "You mean toking up?"

Grant always portrayed himself as having a bad boy edge; something which I had come to accept as part of his personality, but that didn't mean I approved of his weed smoking. Although I didn't deny, there were worse things he could have done.

"Whoa, easy there girl; not this time." He replied earnestly. "Beside, saw you chatting with the squirrels."

Rolling my eyes I sighed. "Whatever, let's get going huh, we don't wanna be late, the others are probably already there."

"Yeah, right, right, right." Grant replied.

We resumed walking, heading up for the cable car station which was now in view. We looked for any sign of the others. The only other person I knew for certain would be around here was most likely Chris. When I looked around however and didn't see anybody.

"Chris? You here?" I called out to no reply.

I paused and spotted Chris's bag. "Your bag is here, so where are you?"

Looking around, I could see he wasn't here.

I jokingly called out. "You're not _in_ the bag are you?"

Grant snickered at that. It was then she spotted something else.

Chris's bag had it's front pouch unzipped, his phone was slightly hanging out and the screen had just lit up, vibrating.

"What do we have here?" I wondered aloud.

Grant's eyebrows went up. "Oh, message for Chris...wanna peek?"

"What?" I gasped, shocked he'd even suggest that. "No!"

I quickly zipped the bag up. "That's private, it's not any of our business."

"Spoilsport." Grant chided playfully.

I was about to protest further when we heard Chris' voice behind us.

"Sam, Grant, you made it."

We turned and smiled when we saw him.

"Hi Chris." I greeted while Grant casually raised his hand in a sort of wave.

Chris was dressed for the weather too in a layered light blue jacket over a green commando-style sweater, blue collared shirt, and a white undershirt and simple jeans.

He paused briefly before grinning and going to pick up his bag. "Hey, c'mon, got something to show you."

"What?"

"I'm not saying, you gotta come see." He replied with a soft laugh. "Gonna blow your mind."

Rolling my eyes and laughing I followed Chris, Grant tagging along beside us. I couldn't deny I was curious, just what was Chris talking about, what did he have to show us so badly.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, as I said, next chapter is where things will pick up a bit, read and review please.


	3. Grant I

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 2 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy :)

 **Reviews**

 **Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you are enjoying them :)  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

GRANT POV

Following Chris I couldn't help but grin. After the chaotic and terrible end to last years visit to the lodge, I had to admit, I never thought we'd come back. So when I got Josh's message, I couldn't help but feel pumped; perhaps this would be just what we all needed.

' _We all have pressures on our mind...this should help us put them aside for a while at least.'_ I thought, still grinning. _'Especially after; mom...Not now Grant, focus on this; what does Chris have for us?'_

I was broken out my thoughts by Sam suddenly calling out; drawing attention to what looked like a wanted poster.

"Did you see this?" She asked.

Chris laughed. "Cool, maybe we'll get a visit from America's most Wanted."

I shook my head. "Chill Sam, look at the damage, no idea how old it is; don't look too much into it."

She sighed but nodded and we continued onwards. We soon arrived at our destination, behind the cable car station.

"Ta-da." Chris announced triumphantly.

My eyes widened, Sam gasped as we both found herself staring at a makeshift shooting range.

"Is this cool or what?" Chris asked as I stepped forwards, immediately examining one of the rifles.

I could hear Sam didn't sound too impressed as she replied. "Yeah..."

"Sam, look at these babies, what's not to like about this; it's awesome?" I asked, turning with laugh.

"Awesome isn't the word I'd use." She retorted. "What is a shooting range even doing at the bottom of a ski lodge?"

I almost laughed at that, turning back to face the range.

Chris explained casually.

"Uh, have you even met Josh's dad, guy thinks he's like Grizzly Adams or something." He pointed out.

I nodded. "Exactly, now, excuse me, let me show you how it's done."

I did in fact know how to use a gun. All thanks to my dad who owned a shooting range. I used to go and watch since I was fifteen and once I was legally permitted to do so I began practising myself, even after my parents split up.

' _Legally permitted, that was the one thing holding me back, even dad wouldn't teach me until then.'_ I thought bitterly.

Still I pushed the thoughts out of mind and focused on aiming the gun. With careful aiming I took out the bottle on the nearest barrel, then a sack hanging from the tree, then another bottle, followed by another. I wasted no time, merely shifting my aim to my new targets after each shot.

"Wow..." Sam remarked with a laugh, before putting on a faux southern accent. "Nice shootin' Tex."

Chris let out a low whistle. "Nice dude, here, let me try."

I laughed and stepped back as Chris took up the other gun and began aiming at a few other targets.

Sam stepped up next to me and queried. "That wasn't beginner's luck, was it?"

I shook my head. "Nope, just lots or practice on my dad's range."

"Ah, I see...Well, looks like Chris has a good case of that though."

Chris rolled his eyes, having shot a few targets. "Ah no, I beg to differ, watch this."

With that he no scoped another bottle.

I rolled my eyes, stepping forward to shoot again.

"Chris, my half-blind grandmother could've shot that." I teased.

With that I made to shoot at another bottle, but, the moment I pulled the trigger, I realized that there was an obstacle between me and the bottle, a squirrel, possibly the same one Sam had fed earlier. The critter took the hit and, with a squeak, fell dead.

"Whoa!" Chris cried out.

Sam, typically, cried out. "What the hell Grant!?"

I quickly put the gun down, turning to Sam. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Sam, c'mon now."

"C'mon, that poor little guy was alive a few seconds ago and you just killed him." She snapped.

"Sam, I barely had time to react, I'd already fired before I even knew he was there." I defended myself.

She shook her head, glaring.

"Uh, guys." Chris interrupted. "There's our ride."

He pointed up at the approaching cable car. Sam sighed and turned away, she had barely gone three paces when she cried out, suddenly coming under attack by a bird.

"Argh, what the hell, get it off!" She cried.

Chris and I rushed forwards, just as the bird flew off. "Jeez, Sam, are you alright?"

She grimaced, touching her forehead, just above her right eyebrow, she turned to use and we finally saw the cut there.

Looking at the blood on her fingers she shook her head. "Great, nature bites back, just as always happens on this mountain."

"Sam, that's just superstition." I commented.

"Yeah, sure; note it happened _after_ you killed that squirrel?"

I groaned. "You gonna hold that against me forever."

Sam bit her lip. "No."

With a heavy sigh I began leading the way back to the cable car station.

Reaching the cable car station I tried the door.

"Uh, guys, little problem."

Chris grinned and stepped forward, pulling out a key. "Josh wanted it kept locked, here we go."

I nodded slowly. "Riiiight...Not even gonna ask."

"Well I am, why?"

"Apparently they found people sleeping in here once." Chris explained. "They're just trying to stop that from happening again."

Sam shuddered. "Creepy."

Once inside we found ourselves waiting for the cable car to approach; casually leaning against the railing I glanced over at Sam, then at Chris. I smiled lightly; I wasn't normally the type of person to believe in karma or fate or anything like that.

However I couldn't deny it felt like more than coincidence that I'd ends up going up the mountain on this trip, with the very two people I first met in my group of friends. It had been Sam and Chris who I met and befriended first and they had introduced me to the others.

Finally the cable car arrived and we quickly boarded.

While Chris and Sam sat down on one side, I took the opposite and lounged back, hands behind my head.

"Alright, the adventure begins." I quipped.

They nodded and then, after a pause, Sam sighed. "Oh I really hope this was the right thing to do..."

"What?" Chris and I chorused together.

"Ya know, getting everyone together on the anniversary." She explained. "I mean Josh seemed really pumped about us all doing something, didn't he?"

Chris smiled. "Yeah, no, he _definitely_ did! I haven't seen him so excited about something in...forever."

Sam nodded slowly. "Good, good, it's hard to tell with him and I...I've been kinda worried."

They continued talking, moving on from that topic to how Chris and Josh first met. I'd heard the story before and tuned out, focusing instead on simply relaxing and waiting for us to reach the top cable car station. I could hardly wait to meet the others and get this trip started.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.

Also, just a heads up, on my profile page I will set up a poll to determine which of my three big Until Dawn stories I focus on first, if you want this to be the one, I'd recommend going and voting for it. The poll will run from today until Sunday the 12th March, then on Monday the 13th I will begin making an effort to continue the story that got the most votes. If there is a tie between two stories, I will determine which one I do via coin toss.


	4. Jess I

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 3 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

So, now I can finally get to work on this story, which should be updated more frequently than Embers of Hope, as I hope to do my usual daily updates on this, although it will likely be later in the day the chapters are uploaded as I am having them beta-read by PokemonFreak90, a fellow reader who helped me with some of the details in this idea, as well as coming up with two later ideas for me to do, when I finally get to those ideas I'll be sure to let the readers know, credit where it is due after all.

 **Reviews**

 **Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
Lama: Thanks.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

JESS POV

I smirked casually as I sat on the bench outside the upper cable car station. I could see the lodge in the distance, I couldn't believe we were all really back here, after a whole year. A lot had changed in that year; the difficult part to swallow was, a good number of those events were my fault.

I can't deny it, I have a vindictive streak a mile wide and when drinking it gets worse. That was what happened that night, the night of the prank which saw Hannah and Beth disappear.

' _It was my idea, when I saw how Hannah was acting towards Mike, how pissed off Emily was. Urgh and look what it led to.'_ I thought to myself.

Closing my gray-blue eyes I let out a steady breath and tried to distract myself. Dwelling on the past would only bring out the bad memories, and I was sure not even Josh would want that.

He had said after all that he wanted us here to have a good time. Luckily I was distracted at that moment by the sound of the cable car coming to a stop, more people had arrived. Grinning I stood up.

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, new people." I muttered. "Time to play meet and greet."

I casually brushed off my stone blue parka and jeans, under which I wore a simple white T-shirt, over that a purple long sleeved top; and began to make my way to the cable car stations door.

The only sound I could hear now, over the wind, was my snow boots against the wood flooring as I neared the door. I had barely reached the door when someone slammed a hand against the glass, making me jump.

"What the hell?!" I cried out.

"Hey Jess!" She heard Chris cry out.

I then spotted him, face pressed up against the glass, next to him was Sam. "Jessica, over here!"

I quirked an eyebrow at their odd behavior. "Um, are you guys having a really weird stroke or something?"

"We're stuck in this stupid thing." Sam explained, exasperated. "Can you let us out please, pretty please."

I rolled my eyes; Sam has that effect on people, it's really hard to say no to her, about _anything_.

Without even hesitating, I pressed the button to unlock the door and they both exited, it was then I saw a third person.

"Oh thank god, I thought we were goners." Chris announced, getting all melodramatic.

Leaving him to it I turned to the third person. "Hi Grant, sorry, didn't see you earlier."

"Cause I was the only one who didn't fancy pressing my face against the glass." He replied casually. "Nice to see ya Jess...you changed your hair?"

I almost laughed at that; casually brushing back some of my beige blonde hair.

He was right, I was wearing it in two dutch braids, whereas the last time I saw Grant, at the lodge last year, I had been wearing it in small pigtails.

"Bwip!" Chris suddenly exclaimed, deeming the sound effect appropriate for his actions.

Those actions; to steal the letter I had been holding out of my hand.

"Hey, give that back!" I cried; trying to take it from him.

Unfortunately Chris was taller than I was, which gave me no chance as he held it out of reach, reading it.

"Well, well, what have we here?" He remarked with a sly grin.

I glowered and heard Sam try to admonish him; before feeling my face heat up as Chris began speaking again.

"Looks like someone has a crush on dear friend and class president Michael Monroe." He grinned "And what sizzling erotica could Miss Jessica be capable of conjuring up, I wonder."

I growled, I seriously can't believe he just did that.

My anger was interrupted however by Grant stepping in, a grin on his face.

"Let me see." He said, holding out his hand.

I almost gasped in dismay as Chris handed him the letter for Grant to laugh and turn to me.

He casually looked over his shoulder at Chris. "Sucker."

With that he handed me the letter back and stepped back, grinning broadly.

I was a little surprised and flustered by this "Uh, thanks...anyway..."

"Jess?" Sam questioned. "What's going on, you can tell us?"

I almost groaned, but what the hell, they'll find out eventually. "Alright, if you must know; Mike and Em split up, now I'm with Mike; that's all there is too it."

Grant let out a low whistle at that. "Mike and Emily breaking up, that can't have been pretty."

"Wow, drama." Chris muttered.

I shook my head. "No it's pretty clear cut actually, Em's out, I'm in, simple."

Chris just shrugged. "Yeah, yeah, okay, let's get up to the lodge, getting tired of all this...nature and junk."

"You guys go on ahead, I'm gonna wait here." I told them; smiling to myself slightly. "See who else is coming."

Chris grinned teasingly. "You mean Mike?"

"What?" I quickly realized what I had just done and recovered however. "I mean, whoever."

With that, Chris went off to talk to Sam who had gone to admire the view. Couldn't blame her, it was pretty damn stunning.

Grant however remained where he was, looking at me strangely.

"Jess…?" He said at last. "Be serious with me, are you actually waiting for Mike here?"

I rolled my eyes and shrugged. "Well, yeah, why not, why do you…?"

He shook his head. "Jess, Mike's already here, I was down on that path, for a while...in fact, I'm pretty sure apart from Josh, I was the first one here. I saw Mike, he arrived a good...twenty minutes before you did."

I paused at that, a little surprised. "Oh, well, what about the rest of them?"

"We're the last, Ashley arrived before Mike did and, just before you showed up, I saw Matt and Emily." He explained. "They'll all be...somewhere up ahead I guess."

I don't know why, but hearing that just didn't sit right with me, it was as if something shifted.

"Well, you know Mike, he'll, show up, he'll come back to check for anyone else." I replied.

Grant just nodded and went to join Chris and Sam as they walked up the path. Sighing I sat back down and waited, for some reason feeling a little edgy. Grant didn't mean anything by his words beyond letting me know Mike had already arrived; I knew that, but for some reason, I couldn't relax now.

I sat for a while longer, thinking hard, trying to figure out what was troubling me so.

' _I didn't even feel bothered, until he mentioned Matt and Emily...Wait, is that...Oh God, no.'_ I tried to push that thought away, I was definitely being ridiculous now. _'Wow, acting obsessively jealous much, Jessica, get a grip on yourself.'_

All the same, the uneasy feeling didn't go away and finally, I made up my mind, I wasn't going to wait any longer.

If Mike was already here, I'd either run into him on my way up the path, or we'd see each other actually at the lodge. So I stood, gathering my things and began to make my way up the trail. I didn't exactly keep track of how long I'd been walking, but it couldn't have been too far, but then I heard it, what sounded like hushed voices, both voices I recognized.

' _Huh, what the...what's going on…?'_

Curious and a little worried, I edged closer to where I could hear them and, taking great care not to be seen, I carefully looked out. I almost gasped, horrified by what I saw, this couldn't be. I quickly pulled back, unable to believe it, an overwhelming sense of betrayal filling me; right there on that very spot.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	5. Ashley I

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 4 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

ASHLEY POV

I shuddered at the cold, I seriously did not remember it being so cold last year, blowing onto my hands, despite my fingerless gloves, I merely took solace in the fact I was nearly there. Brushing back my long auburn hair, mostly covered by my red and white beanie I stopped by the observation deck.

Green eyes narrowing slightly I glanced back, no sign of any of the others yet. I briefly considered the weather and just how cold it was. My clothing did a reasonable enough job keeping the worst of it off, so I decided I could wait a while and see if I could spot anything with the telescope, maybe I'd even see the others coming up.

' _Still can't believe it's been a whole year...'_ I thought sadly. _'I thought we would never come back here again.'_

It was true, after all the drama with the police, the pain of losing Hannah and Beth, I couldn't imagine what the Washington's must have been going through, yet here we were, coming back, just as if it was another year, another case of us following tradition, despite the disappearance and likely death of Hannah and Beth.

Even without his sister's, Josh had invited us up and seemed actually rather excited and hopeful.

Pondering this and the enthusiasm with which he invited us up to the lodge this year; completely contrary to what I had expected, I approached the telescope and began to look through it, taking a moment to adjust the telescope so I could see properly. I couldn't help but smile a little as I took in the breathtaking view.

"Wow..." I whispered.

I let out a slow breath and straightened up for a moment before looking through the telescope again. Moving the view around, I zoomed in when I spotted something.

"Whoa, hello..." I whispered. "Somebody is getting a little friendly...and not in the friend-zone kinda way."

I couldn't believe what I was seeing, Mike and Emily were on one of the paths leading up to the lodge, looking rather close and actually appeared to be flirting. Normally I wouldn't have thought twice about such a sight, if it weren't for the fact that Mike and Emily were supposed to have broken up, with Mike now dating Jess and Emily now with Matt.

I shook my head as I turned the viewfinder away, muttering to myself. "They might need to check the expiration date on their big break-up."

Just then, who should suddenly pop up in the viewfinder, playing some practical joke to scare me, but Matt himself. I jumped, startled.

"Oh my god..." I gasped as Matt approached, laughing.

I groaned and he shook his head.

"Hey, sorry about that Ash."

I shook my head.

Turning to him, I let my exasperation show.

"Jeez louise Matt.

Matt stepped back, raising his hands. "Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you Ash, well, I did mean to sorta scare you but not, for real scare you."

"Oh my gosh…." I groaned through gritted teeth, gently shoving him. "Oh my gosh!"

Matt was suddenly awkward. "Uh, damn, I'm really sorry Ash."

I sighed lightly and eased up, it wasn't like he had any mean intent.

"It's fine, it's fine." I said quickly, trying to calm things down.

Smiling again, Matt gestured to the telescope.

"So, what are you looking at, see anything juicy with that thing?" He asked. "C'mon, let me see."

I stammered desperately as I stepped in front of it, faltering. If Matt looked through the telescope, he'd see Mike and Emily.

"Um...No, it's, it's nothing, really, it's not like real interesting or anything." I stammered; trying to dissuade him.

Matt raised an eyebrow. "What, for real, I bet I could find a cool bear chowing down on a fox or something."

Defeated, I stepped aside; already feeling bad. "Um...sure, go ahead."

I stepped back and watched dejectedly as he peered through the telescope. It did not take long for him to react.

"Oh, son of a bitch!"

"It's, it's alright." I said quickly; trying to calm him. "It's probably nothing..."

He turned to me and shook his head, clearly angered. "Is it ever just nothing with Em? Is it?"

"I um..." I mumbled; feeling a little overwhelmed.

With that, he stalked off, leaving me to follow awkwardly.

The whole remainder of the trip, despite apparently still having the presence of mind to pick up and carry Emily's bags, Matt was silent and apparently lost in thought.

' _What do I even say, I just…?'_ I wondered, unable to help but feel worried.

I wished there was something I could say or do to help him calm down; but he simply remained angry and I wasn't sure where to even start. In the end, I never got a chance, for I soon found myself, along with Matt, arriving at the lodge. Josh was already there, waiting and grinned.

"Hi."

I smiled a little awkwardly. "Hi Josh."

Matt just nodded; Josh raised an eyebrow and spoke.

"Well, you guys are the first here and here are some more...we'll talk a little more shortly." He said quickly.

I turned and watched as he headed down to greet the new arrivals. I smiled a little, seeing some familiar faces, Sam and Grant, along with Chris.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	6. Chris I

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 5 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

CHRIS POV

Now standing just outside the lodge, along with Sam and Grant, I fought to catch my breath from the climb. We weren't alone either, we had been met outside the lodge by Josh himself.

"Boy, every time I climb this mountain it feels bigger." I remarked.

"Oh yeah?" Josh queried, raising an eyebrow. "It feels the same to me."

I couldn't help but laugh at his comment and replied. "C'mon, you practically grew up here, it, it probably feels like it's shrinking."

"Maybe." Josh conceded with a wry laugh.

He nodded in greeting to Sam who smiled back, and Grant who waved languidly before we made our way further up, heading towards the front steps of the lodge. As we walked, I pulled out my phone and shook my head, sighing.

"Man, when are you gonna get some cell towers installed up here, I'm getting withdrawals already."

Josh smirked and joked. "You got a spare million lying around and I'll fix you right up."

Laughing, I pretended to pat down my pockets. "Funny you should say that...Ah, I think I left it in my other jacket."

"Oops." Josh quipped, playing along.

We walked up to the foot of the lodge. I smiled when I saw Ashley was already there, seated on the steps, and then saw Matt standing nearby, looking forlorn.

"Hey gang." Josh greeted them enthusiastically. "You guys get up here okay?"

Ashley nodded as she too spoke up. "Yeah, it was pretty easy, a little creepy though...I mean, it's just really weird being back here."

They all nodded and Josh, seeing Matt's reaction, spoke quietly to Ashley.

"What's up with him?"

Ashley just shook her head and I stepped back as Matt and Sam moved a little further down the path, Sam going as far as the gate and leaning on it. Ashley remained seated on the stairs while Grant casually leaned against one of the wooden railings and Josh approached the door, I hurried up to join him.

Once I reached Josh, I grinned and spoke up.  
"Yo, yo, yo!" He cried out excitedly. "Are we gonna get things moving up here or what?"

"Yeah man!" Josh replied, just as enthusiastic.

There was, however, a slight edge to his voice that I noticed.

I began to feel concerned. "Hey...you doin' alright, I mean, it must be really tough without your sis-"

"Stop."

Silently cursing myself, I tried to recover. "I just meant that-"

"No, I know what you meant." Josh said reassuringly. "You know, seriously, I'm over it, and I just want us to have a really good time, you know? Like we always used to."

Letting out a relieved sigh, I nodded, before waiting as Josh attempting to unlock the door.

"Dammit, this freaking thing." He muttered angrily.

Surprised, I stepped forwards, raising an eyebrow. "It's iced?"

"What else?"

Thinking for a moment, I came up with an idea "Maybe there's another way in."

Josh shrugged and stated. "There are a million ways in, they're just all locked."

"There's gotta be, like, a window round the corner we can get, like, get open, or something." I said in reply, not to be discouraged.

Josh turned to look at me, incredulous. "Wait a second, are you saying we should break in?"

I quickly shook my head, stammering slightly. "I don't think it's technically breaking in if you own the place, right?"

"Hey, not if I don't report you." Josh replied, laughing. "Lead the way, Cochise."

I just sighed and turned, starting to head down the steps.

On the way down I decided to stop and turned to Ashley, biting my lip as my heart suddenly sped up, I couldn't deny she looked nice, even all bundled up against the cold..

"Hey Ash..." I greeted somewhat awkwardly.

She smiled and returned his greeting. "Hi, Chris."

He thought briefly before replying. "So...how're you doing?"

"Mm...good." She replied with a slight shrug. "But, a little cold. I think I could use some time curled up by the fire."

I smiled gently at that. "Yeah, that does sound pretty nice."

She also smiled at that and I stepped down, heading along the path around the side of the lodge. Once out of earshot of the others, however, Josh turned to me, grinning.

"Ashley was looking pretty hot today, right?" He remarked teasingly. "She's like a 'sleeper hit' kinda gal, you know?"

I paused, startled and a little uneasy.

Josh's next comment made me even more so. "Now I just wanna rip that parka right off her and...make some snow angels, right?"

"H-hey, cut it out, man-" I protested, a little startled.

Josh just laughed and held up his hands. "I mean, if you don't wanna bang her, maybe...Mike'll take up the case."

I narrowed my eyes. "W-Will you back off already?"

Josh simply laughed, shaking his head and gently eased me.

"Relax man, I'm just...checking to see if there's some blood flowin' down there." He stated jokingly.

I shook my head, exasperated. "Yeah..."

There was a brief pause, before Josh sighed.

I got the feeling he was looking to emphasize a point, and sure enough.

"Listen dude. Look around you. Look at these beautiful mountains. Do you see any parents? I mean can you imagine a more perfect, ripe scenario, just dripping with erotic possibilities?" He stated, announcing. "You, and Ashley, alone at last... You've laid all the groundwork, you've been a perfect gentleman. Now you come in for the kill!"

I smiled lightly and sighed. "Maybe you're right."

Josh grinned and added. "You are a hunter, bro. No fear, no mercy. I mean, she won't even know what hit her."

We both laughed at that.

"Alright, alright, I got it. Jeez." I replied, holding up a hand.

Satisfied Josh nodded and together we resumed our quest, Josh querying as we did so.

"So, how are we planning on breaking into my parents' lodge, bud?"

I grimaced lightly. "Wait, I didn't say _I_ had a plan-"

"You sounded like you had a plan." Josh replied; before joking. "You better deliver, Cochise, or else you got four lovely ladies who are gonna be freezing their buns off and last time I checked, that's not a good way to get laid."

"Well shoot, nobody likes cool buns." I shot back.

Laughing, we continued onwards.

As we walked, I stopped as he noticed something, at the side of the lodge was a holder for a fire axe, but the glass was broken and the axe, disturbingly, missing.

"Hmmm..." I muttered, biting my lip.

Josh nodded. "Don't worry about that, it's been missing for ages."

I nodded, reassured and then, just to my right, I saw it, just what we needed. There was a window I could see that was unlocked, and nearby was a cabinet that could be moved underneath the window, with a bit of elbow grease. I gestured to the cabinet, drawing Josh's attention and moved to shove it.

Josh went to the other end and took hold. "Well, well, well, we got ourselves a thinker, nice one."

Working together, we moved the cabinet beneath the window. I then climbed up and nearly overbalanced.

"Whoa..." I muttered, but managed to right myself.

Nodding to Josh, I pulled open the window. Looking through, I could see that it led to the garage. I began to climb through the window, only to tumble unceremoniously, landing on the floor with a yelp. Groaning as I lay there, I heard Josh climbing the cabinet quickly and saw him holding onto the windowsill, looking down.

"Ugh, I'm okay." I replied quickly. "I should have paid more attention in climbing class..."  
Josh looked a little perplexed by that. "Uh...you mean 'gym'?"

Standing up, I nodded. "Yeah, you know, with the climbing up the rope-"

My words were cut short when, with a loud pop, the light bulb smashed, plunging the room into darkness.

I looked around, startled. Josh was surprised too.

"Whoa?" He gasped.

Suddenly feeling awkward, I looked up to just. "Uh, did I do that?"

"I don't...I don't think so." Josh replied, before pulling out a lighter and throwing it to me. "Here, use this."

I caught it and ignited it, providing me with at least some light to see with. Looking at the lighter, Josh's eyes widened and he grinned.

"Whoa, I, I just got an awesome idea." He said quickly.

"Yeah?"

"Totally."

I nodded. "Well, what is it?"

Josh began explaining. "Okay. So. I am PRETTY sure that I've got deodorant in one of the bathrooms... you could use THAT with the LIGHTER..."

"I don't...I don't follow." I replied, shaking my head. "How's a stick of deodorant gonna help?"

Josh looked amused as he replied. "Spray on, it's a can."

Realization dawned on me. "Oh, yeah, now I gotcha."

"Flamethrower."

I grinned. "Just like we do with the lil' army dudes."

"Yup, the ones we melted." He said with a grin. "Just point the spray-can at the lighter then...FWOOSH."

"Bye-bye frozen lock."

"Bingo. Alright so you got this." Josh remarked, he glanced back to the front of the lodge. "I'm gonna go sort something out. You up for hunting around in the dark a little bit?"

I sighed but shrugged. "Nope, but I'll do it."

"Godspeed, pilgrim." Josh shot back with a John Wayne impression.

Josh then jumped down from the cabinet, out of sight, leaving me to wander the dark alone.

I began making my way through the lodge, looking around, remembering so many things from the previous trips there. Some things stood out, catching my eye, namely a newspaper fragment about an arrested convict with a grudge against Josh's parents. I couldn't deny that worried me, especially in light of recent findings, such as the wanted poster and missing axe. This was despite Josh's assurances.

' _Well, what do we have here, huh...'_ I thought to myself, but stopped.

Smiling wistfully as, on my way up to the main floor, I spotted a family portrait, showing all the Washingtons, including Hannah and Beth. Just then, I jumped as I heard a strange noise.  
"Huh, what the hell was that?" I muttered.

Anxiously, I continued onward, opening the door and entering the main part of the house. In the main hall, I continued to look around. It was clear to me now that the power was gone in the whole place, not just the garage.

My journey through the house, interrupted by me looking around, lost in memories, led me to some strange things, such as a rather unsettling answer phone message. It seemed the wanted man I had heard about was released from prison not too long ago and was on the loose. The message had been from a police officer, warning Josh's mother. Other things were less worrying and produced pleasant sights, a picture of Hannah, Emily, Mike and Sam at prom, a picture of Josh, Hannah and Beth at the beach and finally a film trophy Josh's dad had won. I actually remembered it, I had gone with the Washingtons to the ceremony where it was won.

' _Wow, feels like so long ago...so many memories.'_ I thought to myself; before shaking myself out of complacency. _'Okay, stop dawdling Chris, you got a lock to heat up.'_

Quickly recovering, I made my way through to the bathroom. I immediately went to and opened the cabinet beneath the sink and saw the deodorant can in front of me. Smiling, I went to take it. Just as my hand closed around it, a furry, sharp-toothed creature leapt from the cabinet with a roar and ran from the room.

"AHHH, SON OF A-!" I cried out in shock and alarm as I fell to the ground.

Recovering, I stood, staring out of the door. "What the fuck!"

I blinked and then looked down, I still had the can. "Ahh, perfect."

I picked up the lighter and lit it again and made my way back to the front door.

Approaching the front door, I got to work using the deodorant and lighter to burn the ice off the lock. Putting the items aside, I opened the door. The handle was still hot, making me wince, but I recovered well and gave a mock bow.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week-" I joked, making the girls roll their eyes.

Suddenly at that moment, the creature from the bathroom darted out through the door, startling me and the girls, me more so.

"EEEK!" I cried out, admittedly not in a very manly way. "Jeez!"

Sam and Ashley laughed at that while I shook my head, trying to recover. Grant was grinning as he walked up the stairs.

"Crap, that thing freaked me out." I muttered.

"What was it, are you okay?" Ashley asked, concerned.

Shrugging, I shook my head. "It was like a bear or a tiger or something."

"Aw..." Sam replied in a cutesy tone. "It was just a cute little baby wolverine."  
"Baby?" I shot back incredulously, making Grant chuckle.

Josh had, by this point, reached the top of the stairs, with Matt just behind him.

"Don't worry buddy, you're gonna be a big boy soon." He teased.

I just groaned but stepped back and we soon entered the lodge.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	7. Mike I

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 6 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Boris Yeltsin: Indeed.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

MIKE POV

I grinned as Jess and I got closer to the lodge.

"Well, here we go, nearly there." I remarked cheerfully.

Jess nodded. "Yeah."

I paused, a little confused. Something wasn't right here. Jess had been acting strangely since I met her on the path on the way up to the lodge. She had been very quiet and did not respond to any of my efforts, acting rather distant and cool.

"Jess." I queried, making her stop and turn. "What's going on? You've been...kinda quiet, it's not like you."

She shook her head. "It's nothing."

"Nothing?"

She sighed. "Just forget it, let's just…hurry. The others will be waiting."

A little surprised by her abruptness, I nodded in agreement and we continued onwards. I couldn't deny, this was starting to confuse and worry me greatly, but I couldn't see what was wrong with her.

'Seriously, this is not like Jess at all. She's normally so bubbly and happy...' I thought, worriedly. 'I've never seen her upset like this before...'

Preoccupied and more than a little concerned about Jess, I did my best to remain calm and when we arrived, I smiled widely.

I turned to Jess and spoke to her.

"Well, let's go. Time to make our entrance."

She nodded and shrugged. "Alright, let's go."

We entered and I grinned, calling out as I entered.

"What up, party people?"

The others all returned with various greetings, Josh nodded.

"Hey man, c'mon in, make yourself at home."

Nodding, I replied, "Will do."

"Yeah, c'mon in, take a load, do what you want." Matt suddenly replied, actually glaring. "You just take what you want, anyway?"

Almost immediately, I could feel the tension filling the room. I looked around, nobody was saying anything. Jess seemed on edge, but didn't say anything else.

"Whoa..." I responded, incredulous. "Take it easy, cowboy."

Glaring, Matt cut right to the heart of the matter. "What the hell were you doing with Em out on the trail, huh?"

"What?"

"I saw you and Em through the telescope." he explained.

I raised an eyebrow at this and replied casually. "Before? We just ran into each other. It'd been a while so we hugged and I said hello. Is that against the law?"

Matt narrowed his eyes. I couldn't believe this was actually happening. But then, suddenly, things took an unexpected turn.

Before either of us could say anything, Jess suddenly spoke, rather sharply, too.

"Oh please, you expect us to fall for that?" she suddenly snapped. "I saw you with her too, Mike! What the fuck do you think…!"

"Whoa, Jess, listen a minute..." I replied worriedly.

Now it made sense; the reason why she had been so cold since I ran into her. She had seen Emily and I at that point. But how? I never imagined that she would actually...

A sudden feeling of dread overcame me, as if I just knew that something had gone horribly wrong.

She shook her head. "No, you listen to me. Do you think we're blind or stupid? How could you do this?! I thought, I thought you..."

She was still clearly furious, even though from here, tears were visible in her eyes.

I grimaced. 'Shit, this is so not what I wanted to happen, or thought would happen.'

Looking around, none of the others showed any signs of doing anything, all suddenly looking awkward. I could hardly blame them.

"Are you even listening to me?!" Jess snapped. "Well, how can you possibly explain this? What you did; that lame excuse isn't going to work and we all know it!"

"Jess..."

I had never seen her like this before, ever. It was actually kinda scary. Even Matt seemed to have, temporarily at least, let go of his initial anger, stepping back in shock.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it did. For at that moment, Emily entered the lodge.

"What the hell is going on here? I could hear you all halfway down the trail." she queried as she came in.

She stopped, however, when she saw the obvious signs of a confrontation. Jess reacted suddenly to her presence.

"Oh no, Jess..." I warned, but she took no heed.

"Bitch!" she screamed, before slapping Emily across the face.

There were gasps from the others and I quickly moved to try and pull Jess back before things got out of hand.

But Jess lashed out at my attempt to touch her. "Get your filthy hands off me!"

Emily recovered from the slap and glared at Jess. "What the fuck do you think you…!?"

Jess rounded on her. "Oh, like you didn't deserve that, skank! What's wrong? Matt not good enough for you so you have to go and try and get with Mike...again!?"

"I don't know what you…"

"I saw you, fucking whore! I saw both of you together out there! You couldn't keep your hands off each other!" Jess growled.

Emily actually froze at that, as she probably realized the same thing I did. We had been caught in the act.

Matt shook his head at Jess, practically dragging himself back into the argument. "I saw them, too. Listen, I'm not any happier about this, Jess, but..."

"Save it, Matt. Save it for somehow who cares."

"Please, tell me that it isn't true. I mean, you two didn't really..." Jess trailed off.

I couldn't lie to Jess, but I couldn't bring myself to say anything, either. So I just kept quiet and so did Emily.

I shook my head. This was going to get even more crazy if someone didn't do something soon.

I knew that I had to step in, since nobody else was.

"Hey, c'mon, please. Let's not..." I began, trying to get between them.

But Jess just shook her head. "Fuck you, Mike. I can't believe you would betray me like that! So you two don't deny it? Well, you can have each other! We are through, Mike!"

With that, she turned and, before any of us could say anything, stormed out. Judging from the sound of the door slamming shut, she was actually leaving the lodge altogether. There was a stony silence, finally broken by Grant's sarcastic applause.

"Grant..." I snarled, turning to him.

He shook his head. "Really great job, stud. Well handled...Or maybe not."

"This isn't the time for this!" I snapped.

"Of course it isn't." Grant replied with a shrug. "It never is the time to discuss your shortcomings. But whatever."

With that, he turned and left, much to my surprise. Hearing the door confirmed that he had, in fact, left the lodge, too. But that did nothing to dispel the tension. Emily was clearly seething, Matt still glared at me and I couldn't deny that I was worked up now, too.

But all of that faded when Josh spoke, clearly furious. "Are we all quite done now?"

"Josh..." I began.

"I don't wanna hear it. I think all three of you need a time out, so on you go. Find a room on your own." he snapped. "Don't bother coming back until you've sorted out the mess you've made and are ready to apologize properly."

"Apologize?" Emily scoffed. "Excuse me, didn't you see what that bitch did..."

Josh cut her off, getting right up in her face. "Or you can leave now...go home...and never come back."

That shut her up, especially when nobody else argued at what was, essentially, Josh threatening Emily with being kicked out of the group completely.

Muttering to herself, she left, as did Matt shortly afterwards. Looking around, I found nobody looking my way. With a heavy sigh, I too left and sought refuge elsewhere.

'What a mess. How did it come to this?' I wondered.

But deep down, I already knew the answer. I had stupidly decided to keep seeing Emily while dating Jess and my selfishness had cost me the girl that I really did care for.

One thing was for sure; this was not what we had hoped for when we first came here. None of us had expected or wanted this.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	8. Jess II

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 7 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

JESS POV

The cold bit into me, but I didn't care, I was just, lost. The tears spilled, unbidden, from my eyes, but I didn't bother to wipe them away. Despite the fact my face felt colder due to the tears that had already spilled down it.

' _How could this have happened; how could, how could he…?'_ I thought in dismay, an involuntary sob escaping my throat as more tears fell. _'How could Mike do this to me...I, did I…? No, it wasn't me, it couldn't have been. Could it?'_

Dismayed I didn't bother stopping, I just ran, as if, by running, I could escape Mike's betrayal. The snow making my journey more difficult, especially as it became deeper, and thicker, the wind blew harshly and I stumbled, but picked myself up and kept going.

I let out a shaky breath as I tried to calm myself. _'I don't understand this at all, I...urgh, they, he...'_

My mind kept racing however; I just couldn't focus. My thoughts were a whirl of confusion and anger, and above all, utter dismay. I finally stopped, unable to move any further, breathless. I leaned heavily on a nearby fence, trying to catch my breath. I couldn't see through tears; my vision clouded.

I almost wanted to scream my frustration and pain, but it just wouldn't come. No matter how much I tried to dissuade myself of the thoughts, they kept coming back, I kept wondering if, at least in some small way, I was partly to blame for what happened.

Had there been something I had done which led to Mike going back to Emily, behind my back even.

Recovering enough to start moving again, I did so, still wanting to get away. My confusion just grew, as my anger did.

' _I just, where do I even start...where do I direct my anger...'_ I thought in utter frustration. _'Mike and Emily are both, but who started it and, and...'_

Not only that, I still couldn't figure out where to even begin pointing fingers. I just couldn't pin the blame on one person. Even harder, I now had to face reality, I had lost the man I loved and that hurt more than anything I'd ever experienced before. More tears came and I sank to my knees and this time, I really did scream, frustrated and beyond rationality now.

My thoughts raced. _'Why can't this just be easy, why can't I? I should be angry with them both, hate them both...but I just, can't. Urgh, what is wrong with me?'_

I just couldn't understand why I wasn't utterly seething. I guess the pain was still too raw, I was more hurt than furious. But in that case, there was nothing I could do about it, and that was something I so utterly hated, it made me feel helpless, something that I despised.

I continued to run as much as the snow would allow, yet more to try and escape, but then, a nagging thought, was running away like this solving anything. I was just fleeing my problems this way. But I found I just didn't care, I just wanted to get away.

I continued to hurry, wallowing in misery; I couldn't deny I was well and truly lost now. I was sure I'd never, ever, been at this part of the mountain before. But again, I was past caring.

Sniffling I reached what looked like a small hill; dimly aware that I had somehow strayed from the path. That thought occurred to me, mere moments before the snowy hill suddenly caved under me and I stumbled, tumbling down the hill until I landed in a snow bank

"Urgh..." I whimpered; as the cold immediately began to seep into my body.

The wetness invaded my clothes and I struggled to rise; but suddenly the strength left my body.

' _What's wrong with me, I can't...move…?'_

My last efforts that I recall, were my attempts to stand again, but then, I slipped into blackness.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	9. Grant II

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 8 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

GRANT POV

I cursed silently under my breath as I trudged over the snow, nearly stumbling for the third time. I was following the tracks, the only sign of anyone coming this way.

'There's nobody else here but us, at least. I'm sure...' I thought to myself. 'It's gotta be Jess. Please, let it be her.'

I couldn't deny that I was worried about her. With the way she just took off, and in that state. I couldn't let her run off alone like that. I remembered last year all too vividly, and the last thing I wanted was another friend to disappear.

I growled as I stopped to take a closer look at the footprints. 'All this because Mike had to be so fucking stupid and selfish. Was Jess just not enough for him or something?'

His actions, and Emily's, had certainly caused all this, but this wasn't the time for thinking about them, I had to find Jess before something terrible happened to her. I shook my head and tried to push the rogue strands of my blue hair out of my eyes. I pulled my beanie back on to try and keep it out of the way.

'Okay, great, this is where it would be really handy to be able to read tracks and such.' I thought sardonically. 'Well, Jess is the only one to come this way, unless...'

I couldn't deny that I had an unusual feeling since getting here that I was being watched. Not just me, but all of the group, probably. Sam had also mentioned that she felt like someone was following her around.

I pushed the thoughts out of my head, trying to focus on the task at hand. If my fears were true, it just made finding Jess all the more pertinent. I grunted as I stumbled again, forcing myself back up. It was almost as if the snow was getting worse.

Such a thing wouldn't be unexpected, not on a mountain like this in the middle of February. Still, it wasn't beneficial for my search. I stopped briefly, blowing my hands to warm them up. It was then that I noticed something. To my right was a snow bank that looked as if it had collapsed recently.

I approached cautiously, worried as I clambered up what remained of the hill. Looking over the other side, I froze.

"Jess!"

I had found her, and not in the best of circumstances. She was lying face down in the snow, the damaged snow bank now made sense; Jess must have fallen. I quickly scrambled down until I was next to her, kneeling down.

"Jess! Hey, Jess!" I cried.

No response. That wasn't good. I quickly checked her and gasped.

"Fuck!"

She was freezing. I had no idea how long she'd been there, but this wasn't good. I looked around, we were in practically the middle of nowhere.

I shook my head. 'Can't leave her like this, I need to...I need to hurry. Shit, Jess, don't worry, I'm getting you out of here.'

Ignoring the chill, I immediately lifted her up and began to carry her carefully.

Biting my lip, I continued to try and find my way back, which was no easy task and I cursed the one thing I forgot, not that it would have helped, now that I was carrying Jess.

'Should have brought a flashlight...ugh, forget it.' I thought angrily. 'We're not getting back to the lodge in this state, we need to find some shelter.'

Wasting no time, I began searching, and to my relief, I found a small cave.

This would do, but I'd need to get moving quickly to make sure that it could keep us safe and warm, especially Jess. Once Jess was resting against the cave wall, I removed both of our jackets and covered her with them, hopefully that would provide enough heat for her until I could get what I needed.

I hated leaving her, but right now, I had no choice. So I quickly got to work.

* * *

It was with some relief, roughly half an hour later, that I had gathered enough wood for a fire. The only problem now was trying to light it.

"C'mon, C'mon, light..." I muttered, frustrated as I tried to ignite it with my lighter. "For fuck sake..."

I let out a short laugh when finally, it worked, and the fire crackled to life. Relieved, I leaned back as the warmth began to fill the cave.

"Grant…?"

I turned, relieved to see that Jess was now awake. She looked startled and confused. I smiled lightly and stepped over to her.

"Hey, welcome back, Sleeping Beauty." I quipped softly. "You alright now?"

Jess shifted slightly, still rather surprised. "I...what are you doing here, what's going on?"

I sighed and wondered how to explain it. "Well, after you left, I...I came after you, trying to find you."

"Why?"

"I was worried when you left the way you did..." I replied, before shrugging. "Look, I just didn't want you to get hurt and, well, you're lucky that I did come after you."

Jess shivered. "Yeah, I...I remember falling, and then nothing...It was so cold and I, I..."

I smiled gently and sat down next to her. I then explained how I found her, carried her there, and my efforts to keep her warm; the fire, the jackets.

"Y-Your jacket, too..." she gasped. "Grant, you should...Aren't you…?"

"I'll be fine, just, worry about yourself." I told her. "Listen, I get that you're upset, but once we can...once it's safe, will you come back to the lodge?"

She sighed and bowed her head, saying nothing for a moment. I used that time to keep an eye on the fire.

Finally, she spoke. "I suppose, but won't that make things...awkward?"

"Trust me, the only people it's gonna be awkward for is Emily and Mike...maybe Matt." I replied. "Listen, I've got your back, and I doubt anyone else is impressed by what the two of them did to you and Matt."

Jess finally smiled. "I suppose."

Smiling myself, I began to think how best to get back. It wouldn't be easy, we might even have to find somewhere else to stop and rest beforehand. Jess then broke the silence.

"Grant, are you alright?"

"Huh?" was my eloquent reply.

She sighed before explaining. "You've been rather subdued. From the moment I first saw you on this whole trip, you've not been...quite your usual self."

"I am usually wilder, yeah." I replied as casually as I could. "I...just some...family troubles."

Jess bit her lip at that. "I...I see. Anything you can…?"

"I don't really feel like it."

She bowed her head at that. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry. I...I just...Listen, I can't thank you enough for saving me and if you ever want to talk...I'll listen."

I relaxed at that, actually grateful. "Thanks, Jess."

We lapsed into silence after that, only breaking it some time later, perhaps half an hour to three-quarters of an hour later, when things finally cleared up enough for us to leave the cave. We got ready, pulling our jackets on and prepared to leave the cave.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please


	10. Mike II

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 9 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

MIKE POV

With a heavy heart, I finally left the room. I simply couldn't hide anymore. Still feeling horribly guilty for everything that I had done, I figured that it would be better to face things, rather than simply keep hiding. When I reached the main room again, I noted that things were a lot quieter.

The only people in the room were Josh, Chris, and Ashley. Chris and Ashley were seated on the sofa, talking to each other, while Josh was still trying to start the fire.

"Josh..."

He looked up and nodded. "Mike. So…?"

I sighed. "Yeah man, I know. Look, I'm sorry, I know this isn't what you wanted. I...we all...need to remember exactly why we're here."

I meant it too, and hoped that my voice conveyed that.

Apparently it did, as Josh stood up and smiled lightly. "Well, I'm glad that you had the guts to at least realize that and say it, man. Truthfully though, I don't think I'm the one that you owe an apology to."

"Yeah, I'm well aware. So what about…?"

Josh shook his head. "Matt and Emily came back through earlier, apologized too, but I'm sure that only Matt was genuine. Truthfully, I think all that was needed was a time out. They've left, for some reason or another, but they'll be back."

I nodded and went to sit down, hoping that things would finally calm down and I could sort out this mess I made.

However, Josh suddenly caught my attention, grabbing my shoulder. I turned and saw his worried expression.

"Listen, Mike...there's something I need to ask you. I would ask Chris and Ash, but I think you might be better suited for this." he said suddenly.

Confused, I stepped back. "Oookay...What is it?"

Josh quickly explained, "It's been...it's been too long, man. I'm beginning to get worried, so could you see if you can find Jess and Grant? They've been gone for quite a while and haven't come back."

At once, I tensed up. The many things that could go wrong with that ran through my head. I couldn't believe that Josh was asking me to do this, asking me to seek out the girl that I had wronged.

I shook my head, unsure. "Josh, I don't...You heard Jess, I'm the last person that she wants to see. If I go out looking for her, what if she, I don't know, sees me and avoids me?"

Josh let out a heavy sigh, but replied calmly. "I get it, man. Alright, fine...I'm just asking you to find our friends, okay? If not for Jess' sake, then do it for Grant's."

"Grant, he..."

"He's not been himself lately, Mike." Josh replied suddenly. "You must have seen it, he's...not as wild as he usually is, and it's just not like him. Just, please find them. Do we really wanna risk losing anyone else?"

I bit my lip, but nodded. "Ah, yeah...good point. Alright, I got this."

Josh nodded, relieved, and I turned, grabbing a nearby flashlight and heading out into the cold to find Jess and Grant.

Almost immediately, the cold bit into me, but I didn't let it get to me. With the flashlight guiding the way, I began my search. Looking around at the forest surrounding me, I knew things would not be easy, there were so many places they could have ended up.

'Where do I even start? All I know is that Jess came out of this door, but where did she go from here…?' I wondered. 'Grant went after her, if...If we're all lucky, he caught up with her and they're together somewhere. Oh God, get a move on, Mikey.'

I wasn't going to find them by simply standing around. Continuing to follow the path, I tried to think of what I knew, what Josh had told me of the geography of the area, to see if there was anything that could help me figure out where they could have gone.

Still musing on that, I paused, worried, as I was sure that I heard something.

I almost rolled my eyes. 'Urgh, great, looks like I'm hearing things now, I...'

My thoughts were cut short as I realized that I wasn't hearing things. By now, I had stopped and heard it again. There was a second set of footsteps, so I wasn't alone out there. While I knew that, I was looking for Jess and Grant, after all, but something else, some gut instinct told me that this wasn't them. Someone else was there.

I moved cautiously as I strained to listen. Sure enough, I could hear it. Footsteps, and they were actually drawing closer.

'Shit, I have a really bad feeling about this. I'd better make sure that I know what's going on first.' I mused, not wanting to take unnecessary risks.

So I left the path and took cover, listening and watching carefully. I nearly jumped as a deer leapt out onto the path and off again. I let out a slow breath, but knew that the deer wasn't the thing I had heard, as I could still hear those footsteps.

Finally, I saw their source and almost gave myself away in shock. It was a man, someone who was a complete stranger and certainly, as far as I knew, had no business being here. He was dressed up warmly, yet also covered his face with a bandana and wore goggles of some sort.

Yet the main thing that drew my attention was that he was armed with a flamethrower and also a shotgun and a machete.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. 'Who the fuck is this guy?'

Luckily, he finally turned and left, heading in a different direction. I finally emerged from where I was taking cover and shook my head.

'This is worse than I thought. This is...who was that guy?' I wondered. 'Now I really have to find them! But where? Wait, that's it!'

It suddenly occurred me, given where I was. The most likely location from here. It had to be the guest cabin.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	11. Sam II

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 10 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wlfgirl2013: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

SAM POV

I sighed and shook my head as I tried again to fill the bath, turning on the taps, mainly the hot tap. It still wasn't working the way that I wanted it to.

'Honestly, I just want to get a bath.' I thought to myself, exasperated.

"Sammy!" Josh suddenly yelled, catching my attention.

I turned my head, calling in return. "Whaaaaat?"

"You wanna help me get this fire going?"

I bit my lip and casually admitted. "Ummm, well, I was just getting into the bath."

There was a brief pause before Josh replied teasingly. "Oh! Well, do you need any help with that?"

"Hardy har." I groaned in reply, rolling my eyes and sighing.

I tried the taps again and checked the water. Still, the hot tap wasn't giving out hot water.

Giving up, I straightened up and muttered to myself, "Alright Josh, let's see if you know how to hook up the hot water in your big fancy lodge."

With that, I began to walk out of the bathroom, when suddenly, I heard a strange sound.

"Whoa..." I gasped. "What...was that?"

I didn't hear it again, so I decided that it would be best to ignore it and I began making my way back to the main room. As I began to walk along the balcony above the main room, I could hear Josh, Chris and Ashley below.

"Come on..." Josh was complaining, much as I had been earlier.

There was a pause then Chris queried, "How long do you think it'll take him?"

I could easily tell that Ashley was shrugging as she answered. "My money's on blankets for everyone!"

They then started jokingly cheering him on and I smiled, amused by their antics as I descended the stairs and approached them. Josh stood up from the fireplace and turned to them, shaking his head.

"Alright peanut gallery, you know what? I've got an idea for you two." he remarked.

"What?" Ashley replied, taken aback by his sudden remark.

Grinning, Josh explained, "Okay, well, I'm pretty that somewhere in this crazy place, we used to have... a spirit board."

Ashley made a face at that. "A what?"

"Wow..." Chris sarcastically gasped. "You have 'a spirit board'?"

Finally realizing just what he meant, Ashley asked incredulously, "Wait, are you saying...we should have a seance?"

Chris, however, shook his head. "Those things are a joke, man, they don't do shit."

"No way, bro." Josh insisted. "We used to do it all the time, me and...well..."

They all went quiet at that, knowing that he was talking about his sisters.

Biting my lip, I decided that, despite the obvious heavy moment, I needed to intervene. Perhaps my little problem would set up a nice distraction for Josh, taking his mind off of his obvious sorrow.

"Hey, Josh." I called out. "No hot water's kind of a major oversight, doncha think?"

Josh just smiled and gestured. "Yeah, yeah, just gotta fire up the boiler, it's in the basement."

"You guys see if you can find the spirit board." he said, turning to Chris and Ashley.

Enthusiastic, Ashley stood up. "Chris, let's go find it. It'll be like a scavenger hunt!"

"Ummm...okay..." Chris replied, uncertainly. "I guess so."

"Rad..." Josh replied happily. "You're not gonna regret it."

So we split up. Chris and Ashley headed off on their search while Josh began to walk towards the basement, inviting me along. I couldn't understand why things were so quiet.

"Josh, what's going on, where is everyone?"

Josh sighed and shrugged. "Well, Jess and Grant still haven't returned...It was risky, but I asked Mike to find them. Matt and Emily have also left, but they went a different way." he explained.

I shook my head, shocked by this. "Whoa, okay, we're all split up here. I mean, what if something happens, what if…?"

"Sam, whoa, whoa, whoa." Josh replied quickly. "Calm down, it'll be fine, alright. Nothing is going to happen, not this year."

I shifted, a little uncomfortable at that, but accepted that explanation. After all, if I couldn't trust Josh up here, who could I trust?

Once down in the basement, Josh turned to me, smirking.

"Hey, you notice how I gave Chris and Ash a mission together?" he queried, and when I nodded, he continued. "Yeah, I was thinking that they could use some 'alone time'."

I laughed good-naturedly and nodded. "They are very sweet together. I wish they'd just freakin' get on with it already."

Josh casually shrugged. "I swear, they just need, like...something to bond over, y'know? Some sort of traumatic event to send them into each other's arms."

I didn't know it at the time, but that very thing would happen to me before the night was over.

I chose not to say anything as Josh retrieved a flashlight from a drawer and opened the door. We began to descend, heading for the basement. Stopping just past the door, Josh sighed.

"You know, Sam..."

I turned to him, a little concerned.

"I just wanted to say..." He hesitated but, encouraged by me, continued. "It really means a lot to me, that everyone came back this year and, you know…that you came, Sam."

Gently touching his shoulder, I spoke as reassuringly as I could. "Josh, we're here for you, really. Whatever you need, whenever. We're all gonna make it through this together."

"Um, I want us to have a good time, you know." Josh stated.

I nodded and we began to make our way down, joking around a little with each other on the way.

Soon, we found the boiler cabinet and Josh got to work, opening it and preparing to set things up.

"Alright...sorry to drag you down into the bowels."

I shook my head. "Just get me some hot water and I'll be super-fine."

"I mean..." he replied, glancing at me, "I wouldn't want you coming down here on your own, you know?"

Looking around, I bit my lip. "Well, it is definitely creepy down here."

"Yep, not a place to be on your own."

While Josh worked, I spotted something in the cabinet and picked it up, a little surprised. It was a baseball bat.

"What's this doing here?" I asked, turning to show it to Josh. "Is this yours?"

Smiling widely, Josh took it from me and examined it, even giving a practice swing as he spoke.

"You bet it's mine." he said excitedly. "I used to play ball with my dad all the time. Of course, that was before he got too busy to hang out with me... Oh well, save it for the couch, right?"

I couldn't deny I was a little worried at how rapidly Josh's mood seemed to switch. Suspicion began to form inside me, but I held it back. Setting the baseball bat against the wall, Josh examined the boiler again.

"Okay, lemme see what I can do with this old hot water machine." he quipped, handing me the flashlight. "Here, can you...can you hold this?"

I took it, but then turned quickly, hearing a strange noise. "What was that?"

Josh turned to me. "What was what? Just shine it here so that I can see what I'm doing."

Turning, I did so, and held the light steady while Josh worked.

"Nice one." he said once he was finished. "Okay, first things first: we gotta increase the water pressure before we get the boiler fired up."

I bit my lip. "Sounds kinda complicated."

Josh shook his head. "No, it's actually pretty simple."

He then walked me through it and I took my place, ready. While Josh worked, the water pressure began to build and when the light flashed, just as instructed, I pulled the lever and the boiler came rumbling to life.

"Whoa!"

Josh grinned. "That's more like it, alright! Five, girl!"

Returning the grin, I high-fived Josh, who smiled widely before turning and closing the boiler cabinet. It was then, suddenly, that I was sure I heard the noise again.

"What the hell is that…?"

Josh stepped forwards, shrugging. "Could be a lot of things...and none of them nice..."

Seeing his smirk, I shook her head. "Hey, quit it."

"I'm just...just 'Joshing' ya."

I rolled my eyes and mock laughed at his bad joke.

Josh genuinely laughed, however, as he teased me. "You were really freaked out."

I scoffed and tried to protest. "I was not scared."

"No, no..." Josh replied quickly, still joking around. "You just jumped because you wanted to squeeze in some aerobics?"

"Don't be an a-hole, okay?" I continued to protest. "I totally didn't jump! All I said was, 'What was that?', which is a totally normal reaction to hearing a super creepy noise in a super creepy basement."

I was cut off by the sound happening again.

Josh tensed, stepping forwards slowly. Now both of us were looking down the corridor leading further into the basement.

"Okay, so, you hear that too, right? Josh?"

"What…?" he whispered in disbelief.

I shook my head. "The rhythm's like, weirdly regular..."

"Not...No, nothing 'regular' about it." Josh replied in a whisper.

I shuddered at that, but then squared my shoulders and put on a brave face. One of us had to do this.

"I'm gonna check it out." I said as I began to move down the corridor.

Josh was startled by this. "What? Why?"

"What do you care, fraidyface?"

"It's probably just, like, not anything." he said.

I shook my head. "Why don't you hold down the fort while I make sure?"

"Okay, whatever you say, madam." Josh snarked back.

I continued down the corridor until suddenly, a man wearing a hockey mask and a monk's robe leapt out, roaring. I screamed and turned to run. Josh stared and cried out.

"Whoa, Sam, whoa..."

I ran to him, pulling down a wooden pallet against the wall as he passed. Josh stood his ground until I just passed him and then he ran, too.

Josh and I continued to attempt to flee, but found ourselves hindered suddenly when we encountered a locked door.

"Oh, come ON now." I cried as I struggled with it. "Why are these doors locked!?"

Josh shook his head frantically. "To keep out strangers!"

I noticed that he was trying to cover me as I struggled to open the door. But it was no use, the monk caught up with us. I spun around and we pressed ourselves back against the door.

"Hey..." the monk said in a gravelly voice.

"What…?" I gasped.

"Heeyyyyy..."

"WHAT THE HELL!?" I choked out, my voice strangled from my earlier screaming.

The monk removed his hood and grinned as his identity was revealed.

"Boom!, you just got monked!" Chris announced triumphantly.

There was a stony silence before Josh burst out laughing and I just couldn't believe it.

"WHAT!?" I cried in outrage.

"Nice, nice one." Josh managed to say between laughs and he fist-bumped Chris. "That was good."

I spluttered, trying to get the words out, unable to believe what had just occurred. "Why w...why would you do that?"

"There's all this cool old movie crap down here." Chris explained. "What, was I...was I not supposed to take advantage of the opportunity?"

"Are you...are you serious?" I shot back before a sudden thought struck me. I turned to Josh and shoved his shoulder. "Were you in on this, you putz?"

"Nope." Josh defended before admitting, "But I wish I was, that was too good!"

The two high-fived and I groaned before we all finally left the basement, Josh locking the door behind us before we made our way to the main room.

With a heavy sigh, I glanced over at Chris.

"I'm ready to admit that your dumb little prank may have had a slight whiff of humor to it." I admitted.

Chris grinned in response. "Jokemaster!"

Shaking my head, I responded, "I said nothing about jokes. I said your prank, which was dumb-"

"Holy crap, you were scared, admit it." Josh cut in with another laugh.

"I was not!"

Josh wouldn't let it go, however. "Come on, you totally pissed yourself."

"Josh!"

Chris walked further ahead than us, to where Ashley was waiting. I stopped by the stairs going up. Josh followed Chris. As I watched, Ashley took a moment to take in Chris wearing the monk's robe.

"What..in God's name...are you wearing?" she asked at last.

Jokingly making the sign of the cross in front of her, Chris replied. "I found my true calling."

Clasping her hands together, Ashley jokingly replied, "Please tell me you're going to take a vow of silence."

Chris continued to joke, pretending to speak inaudibly, making Ashley laugh.

"Okay, okay, did you at least find the...thingy?"

"Boi-oi-oi-oing!" Chris produced the appropriate sound effect as he pulled the Ouija board from his costume. "Here's our one-way ticket to the spirit realm...!"

Ashley nodded and I sighed.

"You know what? You know what, no." I said. "I've just been through enough spooking for one night, okay? I see a hot bath in my crystal ball."

The others all nodded and I began to ascend the stairs.

I called back. "Alright? So have fun...! Oh, but watch out for that Josh. He's a schemer!" Josh; a schemer? I didn't even know the half of it at the time.

Josh just laughed and joined Chris and Ashley as they prepared to use the Ouija board, with me heading up for my bath at last.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	12. Jess III

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 11 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, yeah :)  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

JESS POV

I managed a light smile as I walked, the only sounds at the moment were the crunching snow beneath my boots, and the wind. Grant walked alongside me, squinting and looking around. It was hard to find our way, neither of us had any light source, after all.

'I...God, I would have died out here if it, if it wasn't for Grant.' I realized as I shivered in the cold. 'Shit, is it me, or is it getting colder?'

I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to keep moving, trying to stay warm. It wasn't easy, however, as I was sure that some of my clothing, namely, my jacket and the purple top I wore underneath, were still damp from my earlier fall. Shaking my head, I looked around before finally sighing.

"Grant, I...I don't think we're going to find our way back to the lodge like this." I said, worriedly.

He nodded. "You're right, I...Listen, I think I know where we are. There should be a cabin near here. Let's...We need to find it. We can hold up there for the night and...it'll be easier to find our way back tomorrow."

I bit my lip. "I hope you're right."

Nodding, Grant began to lead the way. I followed, praying that we could indeed find this cabin. As we walked, I considered everything that had just happened.

The thoughts were heavy. 'I still can't believe this all happened, this...issue with Mike and Emily. I...I can't believe that I just ran off like that. It feels so surreal. It still hurts, but I feel like I can...like I can face them now. I have Grant to thank for all of this. He saved me and...and helped me calm down and focus.'

I actually felt hope now. Maybe things would get better. But I still meant what I had said earlier; Mike and I were certainly through.

It was some relief when I could make out the shape of a building not too far away. Grant moved towards it, his determination convinced me that this had to be the cabin. Sure enough, when we reached it, it was indeed a cabin.

Grant paused. "Um...This place is usually locked, but I can get us in. Not a word to Josh, though. I'll find some way to explain it."

I nodded and watched, trying to keep warm as Grant knelt down in front of the door and retrieved some items from his pockets. I watched, amazed as he began, of all things, picking the lock.

"You actually know how to pick locks?"

"Yeah, I try not to do it as a habit." he replied awkwardly. "But yeah, I...picked a few things up."

I just nodded, far too hopeful of having shelter here to judge. Finally, he managed to get the door open and we hurried inside. Grant closed the door and I let out a soft breath.

"Thank God. It's good to be inside, even if it is still cold." I muttered.

Grant nodded. "Tell me about it. Let's see if we can get a fire going...some light, too."

I agreed and noted that, flicking the light switch and no lights came on, the power was out.

"Great."

Grant smiled. "Relax, Jess. Just sit down, take it easy, and let me take care of this...After what you've gone through, you should just take a moment to relax and not worry about anything."

I nodded slowly, moving to sit on the sofa. "Well, okay, I guess."

Once I was seated, Grant got to work, searching the cabin for anything he could use to accomplish the tasks that he had set.

It took Grant no time at all to find a battery operated electric lantern and light it, which made it easier to see, at least. He then began looking for ways to light the fire. I paused for a moment and, determined to at least find the time if not actually try and contact one of the others to tell them we were okay, I began searching for my phone.

But there was a problem. 'Oh shit, shit...it can't be, where…?'

I couldn't find it. It wasn't in any of my pockets.

"Oh shit, no...Grant." I called out. "I can't find my phone, it's gone."

He turned to me. "What, seriously?"

I nodded frantically as I searched the sofa, on it, between the cushions, and under it. "Yes."

Grant shook his head. "Oh great, Jess. Um...it may not be in here."

"You mean, I dropped it outside when I fell and passed out? Oh no, that actually does make sense." I replied, groaning. "Just great, now what am I gonna do? If my parents find out, I'll..."

Grant gently put his hand on my shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about it. We'll get you a new one, alright?"

"Grant, that's..."

His expression hardened. "Since it's technically their fault, we'll make Mike and Emily pay for it."

I was unable to help it. I laughed and just agreed, even if just to see their faces when we told them. It was the first time since I arrived on the mountain that I had laughed like that. It felt good, knowing that Grant of all people had been able to cheer me up. Shortly after this, Grant found some matches and got to work, setting up and lighting the fire.

I let out a relieved sigh as I savored the warmth that flooded the cabin. Grant sat down on the other end of the sofa, removing his beanie and stashing it in his jacket pocket. He also unzipped the jacket. I did the same, before removing my jacket.

"Jess?"

I began shrugging off my snow boots. "I'm still kinda cold, my jacket and this top are still damp, plus, I just want to sit back and unwind, you know, like you said."

He just laughed and nodded as I finally removed my purple top and was now in just my jeans and white undershirt. We sat for a while, until finally, I spoke up.

"Grant, I...I know you said that you didn't want to talk about it." I began awkwardly. "But, I...I just, I'm worried about you. You helped me out, practically saved my life. I just, I want to be able to help you."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It's…it's hard to explain, Jess. I can't just..."

I pondered briefly what I knew about Grant, aside from his obvious wild side, love of partying and such, but he did have another side, one he rarely showed and only a handful of people knew about, the rest of the group and I being those people. We also knew his parents were divorced and he lived with his mother.

I briefly wondered if that was what was troubling him, but no. Even if it did bother him, he was able to recover well from it. It had to be something else.

Finally, Grant spoke. "It's just...There's trouble at home."

"Trouble?"

"You're right, that's too light of a word, I..." He bowed his head and practically choked the words out. "My mom...she, she was diagnosed with cancer...She got treatment and it's gone now but she, she's still weak and, and..."

I froze, utterly shocked by this. "Oh my God...Grant, I...I'm so sorry. I never, I never realized, I mean..."

He looked at me strangely, and for some reason, I felt the need the clarify. "I...I know what you're feeling, Grant, more than you can think. I...I've faced the same."

"Jess…?"

"I lost my grandfather last year to cancer." I admitted, sadly.

Grant bit his lip. "Shit, Jess, I...I'm sorry."

I nodded. "I know, it's, it's hard, but, but I'm okay, really. I just...I want you to know, I understand and I'm here for you."

"And, and I for you." he replied awkwardly.

I almost grinned at that. Grant and I had gotten to know each other on a level that not many of the others knew about, and we realized that we had a lot more in common than we thought. It felt nice, and at that point, we had completely forgotten about the others and were just glad to be alone together.

I felt my heart skip a few beats as I suddenly realized just how close we were sitting. I leaned in towards Grant's face and he followed my example. Our lips were about to touch.

We leapt apart, however, startled by the sound of breaking glass.

"What the hell?!" I gasped.

Grant stood. "That...Hold on, I'll take a look."

I nodded, whispering, "Be careful."

He stepped away from the sofa and began making his way to another room. Unable to bear waiting alone, I began to follow. I found myself standing at the doorway of a bedroom. Grant was by the window, standing up, holding something.

"Uh, Jess...I think I found your phone." he remarked, confused and holding up what he was holding.

I gasped. It was indeed my phone. "What the hell, how did that...Oh for fuck sake."

I glowered as I stalked over and grabbed the phone. I couldn't believe this. Someone had done this, which meant they had taken my phone in the first place, but the only time and place they could have done that was when I was unconscious. Angered by this, I turned and began storming to the front door. I wasn't going to just stand for this.

Wrenching open the front door, I stepped out into the cold and yelled out, "HEY, FUCKER! WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?! WHO ARE YOU, ANYWAY? AND HOW THE FUCK DID YOU GET MY PHONE!?" I demanded, furiously. "STEAL IT WHILE I WAS OUT COLD, CREEP? I OUGHTA-!"

"Jess!" Grant called out. "C'mon, get back inside, it's freezing."

I groaned, but then turned and yelled again. "FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE!"

With that, I turned and slammed the door shut, shaking my head as I turned away from it. Grant was standing there, shaking his head and grinning. He began to step towards me and then it happened. The glass shattered behind me and something grabbed me in a vise grip. I screamed in utter terror as I was wrenched off my feet and slammed against the door.

'What is this? No, help! HELP!' My thoughts raced. I may have screamed the words, but I couldn't be sure, only that I was scared.

Then, there was a burst of pain as I found myself wrenched through the broken window, some of the glass cutting my skin, and the next thing I knew, I was out in the cold, terrified, still feeling the stinging pain with an unknown terror practically right on top of me. I screamed again as I realized the horrible truth of how now, I was completely at this terrifying thing's mercy.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	13. Chris II

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 12 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its character.

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

CHRIS POV

I grinned as Josh, Ashley, and I sat together. We had pulled three wooden chairs over to a small table in one corner of the room, set up the spirit board and were now gathered around it.

I grinned as I began to inform the others, deciding to take some 'liberties' with the instructions. "So it says here: 'To communicate with the spirit world, you must free your mind of all preconceptions, drop all inhibitions, and generally give yourself over entirely to the will of others, sublimating your every desire to the whims of the Spirit-master,' which is me-"

"It doesn't say that." Ashley scoffed, rolling her eyes.

I laughed shortly before jokingly adding, "And all present will remove their garments at my sole discretion."

Josh groaned. "Chris, come on, this is serious."

"Oh, I'm deadly serious."

Finally, Ashley shook her head. "Oh shush it, let's try this."

"Yes, please." Josh added.

I shrugged and decided to play along, they were taking this nonsense far too seriously. All three of us placed our hands on the board.

"Okay, then." I remarked. "Let's see what happens. Ashley, since you're a recent convert, why don't you be our medium for today?"

Biting her lip, Ashley nodded as we all touched the pointer. "Okay, um...Anyone there? Will you reveal yourself to us...if you're there?"

There was a lengthy pause where nothing happened. I was about to make a comment when, to our shock, the pointer began moving, guiding our hands. It was startling and we cried out in surprise and consternation.

"Wait a minute..." I gasped.

Josh practically choked his words out. "Did you do that?"

Ashley shook her head. "I didn't do anything!"

"It's moving again." I noted.

The pointer was indeed moving again, this time spelling out a word, starting with H. We continued talking over each other.

"What's it spelling?" Josh cried out.

"Hold on." Ashley whispered worriedly.

"How is this happening?"

I admit, I was still skeptical. "Are you moving it?"

Ashley shook her head vehemently. "I swear, it's just moving."

There was a pause as it finished spelling the word.

"Holy shit..." Josh whispered in disbelief.

Ashley repeated the word, utterly taken aback. "'Help?'"

I shook my head; feeling a little exasperated. "How are we supposed to help?"

"I don't know." Ashley retorted. "What does it mean?"

I thought for a moment, before realizing and pointing out, "We need to know who it is if we're supposed to help them."

Ashley nodded and asked, "Who are you...? Oh, here it goes."

The pointer began moving again. We read out the word it spelled aloud, Josh reacting first, followed by Ashley, and then me, before the cycle repeated.

"Okay, 'S'."

"I"

"S"

"T"

"E"

"R"

"Sister..." Ashley said breathlessly. "Sister?"

"Whose sister?" Josh asked, suspicion creeping into his voice.

Ashley and I shared a look, both of us were clearly thinking the same thing.

I, however, was still a skeptic. This was just too coincidental and ridiculous. "Oh come on, is this real?"

"Shut up." Josh snarled before insisting. "Ask it whose sister."

Ashley shifted uneasily. Finally, however, she voiced her thoughts.

"Josh, it's...it's gotta be..." She couldn't finish, but she didn't need to.

Josh realized, but was still intense as he shot back. "Yeah? Okay, well, which sister is it, then?"

I nodded slowly, figuring that we had to keep playing along, for Josh's sake. "Ashley, ask who it is."

Ashley shuddered, suddenly more afraid than ever. She considered for a moment, before finally simply choosing at random.

"Who are we speaking to…? Beth…? Is that you?"

The pointer suddenly moved to 'Yes' on the board.

"Oh, God." Ashley whimpered, freaked out.

I was even more edgy now, but still maintained a healthy dose of skepticism. "This is messed up."

Worried, Ashley immediately turned to Josh. "Josh, are you…?"

"I'm fine." he insisted.

"Are you sure? Because we can stop-" Ashley began to reply.

"No."

"Dude." I said softly, worried about how worked up Josh was getting. "It's cool..."

"I want to hear what it says." Josh explained, looking suddenly rather manic.

Ashley shook her head. "I don't know where to start."

We fell into a short silence, thinking. Finally, I spoke up, realizing a possible chance, if this was real, that is.

"Think about it." I said quietly. "If this is actually Beth, I mean, we can find out what happened that night."

"Oh...kay..." Ashley whispered nervously. "Let me think…"

Finally, Ashley spoke again, voicing her question. "Beth...We want to know what happened to you that night. Can you tell us?"

The pointer began moving again.

Ashley spoke quickly, trying to keep up. "H-A-N-N..."

"It's spelling Hannah." I piped up.

But then Ashley realized. "Wait, it's still going."

"K-I-" I read.

Ashley continued. "L-L...Oh my god..."

The word finished, adding in 'E' and 'D'.

"Killed?" Josh exhaled. "Guys, guys what's she talking about?"

Ashley shook her head, sounding as if she was borderline to a breakdown. "I don't know if I can keep doing this..."

"We have to." Josh insisted.

There was an edgy silence. Finally, I made up my mind. If it would help, we would keep going. We just had to keep a level head.

I spoke reassuringly to Ashley. "Just, just stay calm...I think it's saying that someone killed Hannah..."

"I don't know..." Ashley said shakily.

"I just..." I bit my lip. "Ask it something else!"

Ashley nodded, trying to regain her composure. "Okay, okay...How was Hannah killed?"

The pointer moved again, as Ashley read out, beginning to spell the word. "L-I-B-"

I immediately caught on. "Library, maybe there's something in the library here..."

"P-R-O-O..." Ashley read out.

I again realized what was going on. "Proof, there's, there's…there's proof."

"In the library?" Ashley queried in disbelief.

Suddenly, the spirit board shook and flipped the pointer clean off the table, making all three of us jump back.

"Watch out!" Josh cried out.

We also cried out. The lengthy silence was broken by Josh, shakily getting to his feet.

"You know what, no. This is bullshit." He was almost growling. "This isn't real..."

"Josh, I don't know what's going on." Ashley insisted.

Josh glared. "Listen, I don't know... I don't know if you think messing with me is somehow going to help me with my grief or whatever, but this is not cool."

He began to storm away.

"Josh, no!" Ashley tried to explain, pointing out, "You wanted to use the spirit board!"

"Hey, calm down, it's not Ash's fault!" I tried to defend her.

Josh merely snarled at them. "I don't need this right now, okay?! You guys are full of it!"

With that, he stalked away, heading down into the basement.

Standing awkwardly, clearly feeling guilty, Ashley turned to me. "Sh-should we go after him?" she asked hesitantly.

I shook my head, familiar with Josh's moods and other issues. "Ah man, I mean...He'll be okay, let's...let's just give him some time."

I knew that he needed some space, some time to calm down. Once he had that, it would be easier to talk to him and sort this out.

All the same, Ashley was still freaked out. "I don't blame him...That was crazy, the pointer flew right off the table."

"I mean, if..." I began, unsure how to word what I was saying. "If you were faking it, you were doing one hell of a job-"

"I wasn't faking anything." Ashley insisted. "I think we should do what it says. We should look in the library."

I nodded in agreement and we prepared to do just that.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	14. Grant III

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Next chapter of my Until Dawn story, enjoy :)

 **Reviews:**

 **Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

GRANT POV

Stunned shock kept me rooted to the spot for a good number of seconds longer than I liked. One moment, Jess was standing by the door, the next, she was wrenched through it by an unknown assailant, screaming in terror.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" I cried out as I finally recovered from the shock.

Not even thinking, I just reacted. I ran to the door and pulled it open forcefully, stepping out onto the porch. I wasted no time, leaping down into the snow, stopping momentarily at the sight on the ground.

I gasped in disbelief at the mess. 'Holy shit, this is not...this is not good. But wait, I can...'

There were tracks amidst the glass and drops of blood, tracks of someone or something. Whoever it was, they were clearly insanely strong to be able to move so quickly while carrying Jess.

Knowing her as I did, it wouldn't be an easy task, she'd be struggling like a wildcat, fighting tooth and nail to get free. I straightened up, I couldn't let this distract me. However, I needed to hurry. The longer I delayed, the further Jess' attacker got away with her, I couldn't let this happen to her.

"JESS!" I called out in desperation.

I took off running, following the trail, trying to dismiss the drops of blood I'd seen from my mind. The only relief from them was their small size. Hopefully, it was just a couple of cuts, but the chances of that, given the viciousness of the attack, were small.

'Stop thinking about that, Grant! Just find her!' I told myself.

I ran in desperation, not even stopping when I saw a chance present itself. I turned away from the path and, using some fallen pipes, I began hopping over the river. Once on the other side, I took off running, following the trail, which I frantically noticed was growing fainter.

'Shit, shit no…!' I panicked and cried out, hopeful. "JESS!"

No response, except for a distant, albeit inhuman, shriek. I shook my head, I had now reached the edge of a cliff. I peered down, trying to see if I could find any signs of anything.

I froze when I saw something; there was a path down below, the distance made things difficult to see, but I was sure that it was Jess that I was seeing. The shape I saw was crawling along the ground, their movements quick and panicked, clearly trying to get away from something.

"HEY, JESS!" I screamed out, but the wind drowned out the sound of my voice.

Then suddenly, I just heard her screams as she suddenly jerked and began moving backwards, clearly being dragged.

I panicked, she had gotten free, but was grabbed again. "Fuck, no! JESS!"

Shaking my head, I looked around. There was a way down to the paths below, but it would take too long. Jess' attacker would have dragged her too far away. I had no choice, the only way forwards was to risk going down the cliff. I grit my teeth and, muttering to myself, I prepared to clamber down the cliff.

"Fuck, here we go..."

I began to clamber down, only to lose my grip and tumble.

"Oh shi-"

My words were cut off as I hit the cliff and began tumbling down. I felt and knew nothing but the pain of several impacts as I fell. By the time my senses returned, I was lying face up, the dropped lantern a few feet to my left. I was looking straight up the sky, aching all over from my tumble.

Slowly, I sat up. 'Shit man, that was not...oh, fuck!'

"JESS!" I leapt to my feet, grabbing the lantern.

While the pain flared up, I ignored it and began following the path, searching for Jess and her attacker, any sign, any at all. In my desperation, I continued to run, searching, calling out. In the back of my mind however, an ominous feeling echoed. The more I searched, the more that feeling grew, getting stronger and stronger until I was suddenly sure of it. I stopped.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no, no..." I muttered in dismay. "FUCK, NO!"

I groaned and staggered around, looking wildly. 'I haven't, please tell me I've...Oh, for fuck sake.'

I growled, anger and frustration filling me. I had lost her, I knew it. I had failed and now Jess' attacker had got away, taking her with it. I couldn't help but feel guilty, I had tried so hard to save her and now I'd failed. She might even be dead already.

I looked around some more, but there was nothing, no way to find out where she had been taken. My only option now, despite the pain, the guilt, and the horror, was to try and find the others, but first, I needed to figure out where I was.

All the same, something flickered in my mind, something which made me feel even worse for failing Jess. I remembered back in the cabin, that one moment where we nearly kissed.

'Oh God, Jess...' I thought in dismay. 'I'm so sorry.'

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	15. Mike III

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 14 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, well, there are plenty there.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 14**

MIKE POV

With a soft sigh, I continued my search for Jess and Grant. I had to admit, not having any hints on where to go, I could only follow the paths. But it was getting late and I had no idea how much time had passed. I was beginning to worry about Jess and Grant. If something bad had happened, if they got hurt, it would be all my fault.

'If I hadn't been so stupid and selfish, maybe none of this would have happened...' I thought sadly to myself, stopping short.

I had just heard a terrified scream, a scream that belonged to a familiar girl.

"Jess!?"

I hurried in the direction I had heard it coming from, hearing the scream yet again. I then saw her. My eyes widened, she was a mess, missing some clothes and utterly terrified. She was struggling against something that I couldn't see, trying to pull herself away, but whatever was dragging her away had a firm grim and she soon disappeared from view, screaming all the while, crying for help, crying Grant's name.

I looked around wildly. 'Grant, where is he…? She's crying out for him to help her, so he must be...Urgh, no time! If he's after whatever took her, we'll meet up.'

I quickly recovered and began to chase after Jess and her unseen attacker. I couldn't let this happen. I was right, something bad had happened and it was my fault! I had to hurry, I had to save Jess! I stopped suddenly, however, as I found myself at a chasm. There were two ways across; I could either shimmy across the edges, or use the rock platforms to jump across.

'Okay, c'mon...fuck it...Jess' life is at stake.' I told myself and threw caution to the wind.

It was a startling experience, but I managed to make the jumps, some of them only just. Once on the other side, I wasted no time and resumed pursuit, once more, picking up the trail. Growling and urging myself onwards, I soon stopped again. I was standing at the top of a cliff, overlooking an old abandoned mine building. Looking at the path below, I made up my mind at once and began to slide down the ledge, taking care to arrest my fall and slow my descent. I soon reached the bottom, landing on my feet. I picked up my dropped flashlight and began to make my way towards the mine building. The trail stopped there, which worried me and I looked around.

"HELP ME!" Jess suddenly screamed.

"Come, shit! Shit! Shit, shit!" I growled as I entered the mine building. Following her screams, I tried to find her. Everything that had happened between us at the lodge was forgotten for now.

"Oh no, help!"

"JESSICA!" I yelled back, trying to get her attention.

Her scream this time was more focused, telling me that she had heard me and knew that I was there. "MIKE, OH GOD, HELP ME!"

"JESSICA!" I called out again, but this time, no reply. "JESS!"

Instantly, panic settled within me and I hurried through the building, descending a set of stairs when I found them. My heart leapt into my mouth when I heard Jess shriek again.

"ARGH! NO! MICHAAEELLLL HELP ME! HELP ME!" she was pleading, and she wasn't scared, no, she was clearly terrified.

"JESSICA, I'M COMING!" I called out, trying to reassure her, but she continued to scream. "JESSICA, JESSICA!"

Hearing me, she cried out, pleading again. "HELP ME! Oh no, Michael!"

"JESS!"

I reached the bottom of the steps and rounded a corner, slowly approaching the center of the room. My eyes widened in horror. An old elevator was stationed there and lying on it was Jessica, covered in blood with several gashes to her face and chest, as well as more on her arms and legs. It was clear that she had been attacked, viciously so. The torn clothing, the injuries, she just lay there. But she wasn't moving, and I fell to my knees next to her. Unable to believe it; I was too late, she was dead, I had failed her.

"NO! OH GOD! Nooo... Jessica... Oh god!" I cried, fearing the worst.

But then, she suddenly gasped, spitting blood, and my eyes widened. "Jess! Jess! Are you okay!?"

She attempted to move, but clearly did not have the strength, even turning her head seemed like a chore.

"Help..." she wheezed.

I began to reach for her, when suddenly, there was a loud metallic snap and the elevator dropped into the depths of the mines.

"JESSSICAAAAA!"

I stared in dismay as her body vanished from sight. I had come so close, and now she was gone. Head bowed, I nearly collapsed into tears, when I noticed a strange shape forming a shadow above me.

"Huh? What the fuck?" I mumbled as I looked upwards.

I could see the shape now. It was clearly a person, a figure looking down at me. Reacting at once in blind anger, I leapt to my feet, wishing that I had some sort of ranged weapon to just kill that fucker here and now. There was no doubt that this was the person who had done this to Jess. They had killed her.

'Son of a bitch, you're not getting away from me!' I thought furiously.

Running up the stairs, I very nearly fell through a hole in the ground, but leapt over it at the last second. I stopped only when I reached the elevator shaft and began to climb it. Seeing a ledge above me, I leapt up to it, only for it to break. I let out a yelp, but quickly caught a lower ledge. Gritting my teeth, I struggled upwards, climbing still, moving as quickly as possible.

'Shit, shit, c'mon!'

Urging myself onwards, although the adrenaline was slowly wearing out now, I began climbing up the right side of the wall, using various protruding bits of metal as hand and foot holds. Setting my jaw, I jumped over the gap and finally landed on the ledge that the figure had been standing on. The rough climb and pursuit had an unfortunate effect, my jacket and shirt had been torn, so now, my upper body was covered only by my white undershirt. Right away, I saw it was the end of a tunnel. Towards the end of a tunnel was a male figure walking away.

'It's him, that's gotta be the guy...For Jess...'

I immediately began to pursue him. "Piece of shit...Get back here!"

As I ran, I saw the man jumping down a hole and a gate beginning to close.

"Christ!" I yelled as I sped up. "Gotta make it!"

I dropped and slid along the ground, only just making it past the gate before it fully closed. Catching my breath, I struggled upright.

'Dammit, gotta keep after him, can't let what happened to Jess...'

I shook my head, I had to focus on following and finding out who this guy was, then he'd get what he deserved. Spotting an older style lantern, I quickly claimed it, turning it on with my lighter before picking it up and following the path that the figure took. I leapt down the hole and made my way out of the mines and into the snow.

"Oh fuck." I muttered as the cold suddenly bit at me.

But then I saw it, a strange large building in the distance. I could just make out the man I saw earlier, walking up the path towards it.

"Jesus..." I whispered to myself. "The fuck is that place?"

I slowly, carefully began to follow the path myself.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	16. Ashley II

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 15 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 15**

ASHLEY POV

Chris and I walked through the darkened lodge, with our only light being the lit candlestick I held. We began making our way to the staircase which would lead down to the library.

"Do you really think the girls were communicating with us?" Chris asked at last, breaking the tense silence.

I shook my head, groaning, "I don't know. I don't know if I wish they were or I wish they weren't."

Chris sighed, but then shrugged. "I guess we should find out."

We began to head down the stairs. As we did, I bit my lip, looking around, just in case we ran into Josh. I still felt the need to apologize to him. I still couldn't believe what had happened and Josh's reaction scared me more than anything. I felt horribly guilty and wondered if it had been a mistake.

"Josh looked so freaked out at the seance." I commented.

Chris nodded. "Yeah, I mean, he looked like he was keeping it together, but..."

I bowed my head guiltily and asked. "Do you think we shouldn't have mentioned his sisters?"

"I mean, it's why we came back up here." Chris replied, apparently trying to reassure me.

"Yeah..." I agreed before pointing out, "But not to, like, have a seance. Maybe we went too far."

In the room before the library, something caught my eye. I thought I saw light. The floorboard was on a hinge, so I lifted it up. Beneath it was a vent with light coming through; electric lighting, despite the power being cut. Chris and I both agreed something was seriously wrong with that and quickly left it. Now more nervous than before, I approached the door and along with Chris, soon entered the library and began looking around for the proof that was apparently there.

This lead to a close call as we passed a bookshelf which suddenly seemed to launch a couple of books at our heads, narrowly missing us.

"Jesus, look out!" Chris yelled, doing his best to shield me.

Meanwhile, I completely freaked out. "Ah, Chris! Holy crap..."

"Are you okay?"

"I think so." I replied, before looking at the bookshelf and pointing. "Look-"

"What?" Chris turned and noticed something, too.

"There was something behind the books, what is that?" I wondered aloud as we began to move closer.

"Is it a button?" Chris wondered aloud.

We got close enough to see that it was indeed a button and I narrowed my eyes, tilting my head in confusion.

"Why would there be a button?"

Chris shrugged. "That's a good question."

Sadly, that did not ease my nerves in any way.

Sighing, I turned to him. "Well, should I push it?"

"That's what buttons are for, I guess." Chris replied warily.

Nodding slowly, I reached out and then pressed the button, stepping back in shock as the bookcase and wall behind it began to move to reveal a secret passage.

"Whoa." Chris gasped, amazed. "Panel opens, head explodes."

I had to admit, however, that I was more frustrated than amazed. "What the, are we, like, in a movie right now!?"

Shifting a little, clearly recalling all of the spooks so far, Chris replied, "If we are, I hope it's a rom-com."

Smiling a little at that, I privately agreed with those hopes before remarking, "Leave it to the Washington's to have secret passages in their house."

"Maybe they didn't even know." Chris pointed out. "This place is super old."

We both stood on the threshold, unsure, and feeling unnerved. Finally, I decided to voice what I guessed we were both wondering.

"So...should we take a look?"

Chris gestured. "After you."

"No." I replied at once. "No, nonono...you go."

I practically thrust the candlestick into his hand.

"Gee, thanks." he replied sarcastically.

Nevertheless, he entered the passage. I admit, I felt bad doing that, but I couldn't help it, I was scared. I waited until suddenly, I heard Chris speak up.

"Whoa, is this..?"

"What did you find?" I asked quickly.

"Holy cow..." Chris gasped. There was a pause before he spoke again. "Now, Ash...I don't want to freak you out, but...but look at this."

As he spoke, he emerged from the passage to join me again.

"WHAT?" I asked. Just hearing him say that freaked me out. "CHRIS, what IS that?"

"I...I think this might be what the spirit board wanted us to find." he admitted.

"The clue?"

"Yeah, it's a letter." he explained.

I reached out, asking to see it. I read it as Chris explained about it being a threat. He wasn't lying, the object was a portrait photo of Hannah and Beth. On the back was a threatening message, promising harm to the twins.

"Chris, this is serious." I burst out. "We need to find Josh right now."

Nodding, Chris followed me as we left the library, only to be freaked out by a door that had been locked previously, opening, with nobody there to open it. Despite my nerves now practically being on a hair trigger, Chris likely the same, we followed the new path, which, if our memories of the lodge served us right, would lead to the kitchen eventually.

"Do you think someone was actually after Hannah and Beth?" I asked worriedly.

"If so, that would be...really messed up." Chris replied, even sounding a little unsure himself.

We continued on our path, stopping in the last room before the kitchen. Chris turned to me, and I stopped, worried all over again upon seeing his expression.

"So um..." he began, before finally spilling it. "I've just been thinking about something I saw earlier with Sam..."

"What?"

He explained, "There was this wanted poster, like, full on western-style, you know?"

I shrugged. "So?"

"And Sam really thought there was someone following her around..."

"So...so what?" I replied, suddenly getting nervous again. "You're saying that there's some criminal up on the mountain with us?"

Chris nodded. Clearly, that was just what he was thinking, there was more to come, too.

He must have remembered more as he quickly told me, "There was a message... on this answering machine I found and it – it was from this Sergeant saying there was this guy who had just gotten out of prison and there was nothing he could do-"

"What do you mean?" I asked, panic beginning to creep into my voice.

"He was saying it like...like a warning." Chris finished, before realizing, "I mean, maybe that was whoever was down in the basement before, remember, under the floorboards in the library, the light...That guy I told you about..."

I wracked my brain, Chris had told me a lot of things as we prepared to go to the kitchen.

"Wait, wait, wait." I insisted. I couldn't put my finger on it. "What guy!?"

"The guy who threatened the Washingtons...He said he wanted to take revenge by burning the whole place down." Chris explained. "And I found that crazy psycho letter..."

I groaned and turned away, wrapping my arms around myself. "Chris, if this is your way of trying to make me feel better... you're fired." I said bluntly.

Chris was about to reply when the door to the kitchen banged and we suddenly heard a scream.

"You hear that?" Chris gasped, turning at once.

I recognized it and cried out, "That was Josh!"

Chris hurried forwards. "Coming from the kitchen!"

We called out to him, Chris telling him to hold on as I opened the kitchen door.

Suddenly, I felt someone or something grab my arm and yank me into the kitchen, the door slamming shut behind me. I cried out, only for something to hit me hard. I could hear the sound of Chris banging on the door, crying out to me. But then I felt something hit me again and I blacked out.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	17. Chris III

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 16 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks :)  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 16**

CHRIS POV

Slowly, with my head pounding from the blow I had received, I felt consciousness returning to me.

"Ungh, ugh..what the fu..." I groaned.

As I did so, I slowly stumbled to my feet, picking up a flashlight that had been put on the floor next to me. It was rather odd for it to just be there, but I wasn't complaining. No doubt, I'd need it.

"Oh no..." I choked out, suddenly remembering what had happened. "Ashley!"

I immediately looked around, seeing no sign of her, I began to search, looking around wildly, using the flashlight to aid my search.

"Ash...ASH!?"

I exited the kitchen and spotted something on the floor. Picking it up, I saw it was Ashley's coin purse.

"Not good..." I muttered. "Not good at all."

I hurried onwards, searching all the more frantically after seeing a horrific sight; bloodstains decorating a wall, very recent. I began to fear for Ashley's life.

'Please don't let her be, please...' I thought desperately.

I soon spotted a door that lead outside, wide open. I hurried out and began calling out as I began to follow the path.

"Ash! ASHLEY! Ashley! Anyone out there? Ashley? Ash...? ASH?!"

But all my calls went unanswered, only increasing my panic. There were footprints in the snow, recent ones. Someone had clearly been through there lately. The question was, who? Was it the guy who jumped us? Did he have Ashley with him?

I came to a fork in the road with tracks going both ways, no doubt to confuse me. I had to make a quick, random decision and initially tried to turn left, only for a mannequin to spring up, clad in a scarecrow mask.

"WHOA!" I cried out, utterly aghast. "What in the hell? Who would do this?"

Looking past it, I was greeted by the unwelcome sight of a severed pig's head. Shivering in disgust, I turned and followed the other path, heading towards the old shed. I quietly entered, not seeing anything, save what the light from my flashlight showed me.

I bit my lip as I slowly walked. 'What is going on here? Wait, that's, that's...'

I could hear quiet sobbing and immediately recognized the person crying as Ashley. Just then, a cage dangling from the roof fell, nearly landing on me.

I leapt back. "HEY, GOD DAMMIT!"

"Chris…?" Ashley called out, no doubt having heard me yell.

Reacting at once, I looked around wildly.

"Ash I'm here!"

"Please..." she choked out through sobs. "Help me..."

Trying to follow her voice, I spoke again. "I'm comin', Ash – just kept talking to me! What happened?"

"Chris, he tied me up..." Ashley sobbed. "I can't move!"

Even more worried than ever, now terrified for her safety, I spoke again. "Ashley, I'm gonna get you out of this, don't worry!"

"I'm really scared, Chris!" she replied; her voice trembling. "Hurry, please! Oh God, Chris! You have to get me out of here before he comes back!"

I continued to follow her voice until suddenly, a light flared, revealing a horrific scene. I gaped in sheer horror at the sight before me. A mesh cage prevented me from getting any closer, but there was a small gate set in the cage on my right hand side, but it was clearly locked.

Before me was a lever, in the middle position, it could be turned left or right. What disturbed me most was that on the panel behind the lever, two pictures of two very familiar people were shown. Looking up, I saw Ashley and next to her, out cold, was Josh. They were attached to a large metal board, held up by their arms, secured in chains.

Beneath them were mine cart tracks which joined into a single track. What chilled me to the bone, however, was the mine cart itself, sitting at the end of this track. On it, situated so that it would be at waist height of the two captives, was a coldly gleaming circular saw.

"Unnghh...Chris..." Ashley spoke weakly, squinting against the light. "Are you there?"

Before I could respond, another voice, distorted, spoke up, coming through speakers.

"Hello."

Ashley screamed and I jumped, looking around.

"And thank you all for joining me." it continued.

Freaking out now, Ashley cried out to her fellow captive, "JOSH! Oh my GOD! JOSH, WAKE UP!"

"Huh?" Josh groaned as he finally recovered, horror dawning as he realized his position. "What…? What is this?"

Acting frantically, I tried to open the door, then tried to force it, but to no avail.

Detached and casual, the distorted voice continued, "Tonight we're going to conduct a little experiment. A sort of test."

Just hearing those words struck fear into my heart. I could only imagine how Ashley and Josh were feeling.

Trying to struggle against his bonds, Josh cried out, "Ashley, what the hell is going on?"

"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know…!" she screamed, totally freaking out.

I found myself breathing heavily, heart thumping, terror coursing through my veins. What was going on? Was I going to watch my friends die? Was this Saw that I could see before me…?

"Now, for this experiment," the voice continued, "We'll need the cooperation of our two test subjects... Joshua and Ashley..."

"Holy shit, oh my god..." Josh gasped as he realized with dawning horror what that meant.

Ashley also realized it and took another panic attack.

The voice then revealed the true horror of its plan. "But we're going to need one more brave participant to help decide... which subject will live, and which will die."

"OH NO! MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH GOD, CHRIS! GET US OUT OF HERE!" Ashley screamed, completely losing it.

Josh, sadly, wasn't much more composed himself. "NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS! LET ME DOWN FROM HERE, YOU MANIAC!"

"Please, please, please, everyone calm down." the voice stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "It's all very simple."

I shook my head. 'Simple? What's fucking simple about this, psycho?'

I then realized that this person had to be the masked man who had attacked Ashley and I earlier.

The psycho then gave his instructions. "Christopher, you will find a lever placed directly in front of you. All you have to do... is choose who you will save!"

I froze, this whack-job was forcing me to choose something so horrific. I had to kill either Ashley or Josh in order to save the other.

Ashley broke into a blind panic again, just as she began recovering from the last time. "Oh no... please! This can't be happening...! Oh God, oh God, oh God...! This isn't right..."

"Shit... shit... no!" Josh cried out, before forcing himself to calm down. "Okay... okay... okay... okay, this is gonna be okay..."

My mind whirled and I found myself pacing back and forth, panicked, due to the stress of what I had just been told.

"Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap." I muttered to myself frantically.

I then heard Josh trying to reason with me, while Ashley pleaded desperately.

"Dude... buddy... Let's just think about this for a minute..." he said as calmly as he could.

Ashley began crying in despair, "Oh my God! CHRIS! YOU CAN'T LET ME DIE!"

"Just, just, just..." I stammered, feeling dizzy from too much pressure. "Gimme a second, I, I can't think straight, shit..."

I could feel their eyes on me, watching frantically as I thought about it. I thought as quickly as I could about everything; my friendship with Josh, my crush on Ashley, too much was whirling through my mind. In the end, I made my choice. However, no matter what I chose, it would be gut-wrenching to me, but I went with my heart.

"Ashley, I'll get you out of this, I won't let you die!" I cried.

Ashley's relief was palpable. "Oh God, thank you! Oh thank you, thank you!"

"NO, please no!" Josh cried out, shock and anger waging war over his features.

Hand trembling, I turned the lever and the saw blade started up, the track points switched and the cart began to slowly move.

Seeing the path that the cart was taking, Josh cried out, "AAHHH! NO, CHRIS!"

The Psycho spoke again. I could almost hear his grin. "Ah...I see. You have chosen...to save Ashley."

"Oh...Oh no..." I stammered, unable to believe that I had to make such a choice and now watch the consequences. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no..."

"OH GOD, JOSH!" Ashley screamed, realizing what was about to happen.

Freaking out entirely, Josh began screaming at me. I tried to speak to him at the same time while the saw blade edged ever closer.

"I thought we were FRIENDS, man! I thought we were FRIENDS! Why would you DO THIS!?" Josh yelled desperately.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! THIS IS MADNESS, PLEASE!"

The saw blade was nearly reaching Josh and he cried out again. "NO! OH GOD, WHAT DID I DO!?"

He never finished his statement, for at that moment, he just screamed as the saw started to cut him open.

"Stop it, you can't do this! Please, no!" I screamed. "Oh Josh, Josh I'm so sorry!"

Hearing Josh's screams, Ashley continued to freak out, eyes clenched shut. "OH NO! MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH GOD, CHRIS! GET US OUT OF HERE!"

Josh only stopped screaming once the saw finished its bloody work, and just like that, it was over. Ashley, now spattered across the left side of her face and clothes with the blood, began to turn her head.

Not wanting her to witness the horror that was nearly making me throw up, a horror I had caused, I spoke sharply, "No, no, no, d-don't look Ashley, don't look!"

"Why can't I look, Chris? Please tell me he's okay, please...!" Ashley pleaded, yet conceded to my words, keeping her eyes tightly shut.

At that moment, the gate opened and I rushed in. I quickly got to work freeing Ashley, trying hard not to look at Josh's corpse for longer than I had to.

"I'm coming, Ash! I'm gonna get you..." I said as I began untying her. She wept, either in terror or relief, or maybe both, I couldn't say. "Shhh – stop, please- Come on, come on, let's get you down... come on... we're gonna get you out of here…"

Once Ashley finally had the ground beneath her feet, I began escorting her away.

She opened her eyes then, only to scream in dismay at the sight of Josh's mangled body. I quickly covered her eyes and began escorting her, sobbing and shaking, from the shed. We kept going, both in tears and both traumatized by what we had just been a part of.

"Chris, Ashley!" I froze as I heard Matt's voice calling.

Looking up, I spotted him and Emily, rushing over to us. Emily's eyes instantly widened when she got a good look at Ashley.

"Blood? Blood!" she gasped. "Whose blood is that, Ash? Chris, what happened?"

Matt was immediately worried, asking if we were okay. I couldn't hide it, they had to know.

"J-Josh..." I choked out through my tears.

"Josh what, dude?" Matt asked softly.

Breathing shakily, I admitted, "He's dead...Right in front of us, man-"

I saw them both freeze at that.

"What are you talking about?" Emily demanded at once.

"There's a maniac..." I choked out.

"Maniac?" Matt echoed, his worry now increasing tenfold.

Emily shook her head. "Oh my God, we gotta get outta here."

Matt, however, was confused. "I don't understand, what happened?"

I tried to compose myself, but couldn't. In the end, I found myself giving a broken and choked account of what had happened in the shed.

"There's a maniac! And... he was- there was a saw... and it was either him or Ash and I didn't know what to do!"

Ashley sobbed at that and I continued.

"Cut right through him and- spilling out fucking everywhere-"

Emily reacted in horror and utter disgust. "WHAT!? Oh my God, Chris. What!?"

I whimpered as I added, "I-I killed him!... I-I killed him..."

"Shit, Josh, too?" a new voice cut in.

We all turned to see Grant, clambering down from the rocks above the path. He looked like a mess, his eyes desperate and filled with despair.

"What are you talking about?" Emily demanded.

He shook his head and revealed, "This maniac, I can't say for sure, but if not him...someone else...Jess is gone, taken."

I inhaled sharply at that, carefully observing the others. Fresh tears sprung up in Ashley's eyes, Matt looked horrified, and Emily...Well, after what happened at the lodge, she at least had the decency to show a flash of guilt. But she quickly composed herself.

"Matt, we need to go and get help, now." she said firmly.

"Em..." he replied, shaking his head. "What about Sam and Mike?"

I shuddered as I remembered. "Mike was sent out by Josh to find Jess and Grant."

Grant cursed under his breath. "I didn't see him."

Then I remembered, to my horror, "Sam, she's, she's still in the lodge-" I didn't need to finish. She was there, all alone.

"Fine, fine." Emily replied, keeping a cool head. "You're right. But if there's a maniac running around, I think we need to get some help too, right? Not just wait around?"

Finally, Grant stepped up. "Alright, look, we can't just go wandering off alone. Emily, Matt, and I can go for help and with luck, we'll run into Mike. Chris, Ash...go back to the lodge and find Sam. Make sure that she's okay."

It wasn't the best plan, but it was the only one we had. So with us all in agreement, we split up. With Grant, Emily, and Matt heading for the cable car station, determined to find anything that would aid them in sending for help. Meanwhile, Ashley and I hurried back to the lodge.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	18. Sam III

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 17 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Boris Yeltsin: Hardly, we've still a ways to go.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 17**

SAM POV

I let out a soft, contented sigh as I lounged in the bath. I had placed my iPod on the wide edge, far enough away from the water to avoid any problems. I listened to the music through my headphones, lost in Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 prelude in G Major. I lost myself completely in the music, savoring the hot water and just felt myself unwind, my muscles relaxing. Just then, I heard a muted thud, which, due to my headphones, could only have come from the bathroom door. The small gust I felt confirmed it. My eyes shot open, registering that the candle next to the bath had gone out, too. I removed my headphones and set them aside before looking around. No one was in the room. I began to worry.

"Hello?" I called out. "Guys? What are you doing out there?"

I glared and shook my head, muttering, "Being creepy?"

I got no response, however. Sighing heavily, I began to climb out of the bath.

"Oh...kay..."

I quickly retrieved a white towel nearby and wrapped it around myself, covering myself as best as I could. Holding a hand against the towel for added security, I approached the chair that I had laid my clothes on, only to stop and stare in disbelief. My clothes were gone, all except for one sock.

"Oh for Pete's sake. My clothes? Really?" I complained before calling out, "Whichever one of you did this is off my Christmas list! Seriously, not cool, guys. Not cool at all."

Muttering angrily, I stalked over to the bathroom door, opening it and stepping out into the corridor. I looked around and couldn't see or hear anyone. Instantly, my mind flashed back to when they pranked Hannah and I felt uneasy. I glanced down to make sure the towel covered me and I began to walk.

"Chris? Josh?" I called out, hoping for some reassurance from the least likely suspects. "What the hell?"

Suddenly, a loud noise startled me, making me stagger back, but it was just the old grandfather clock chiming.

"Ugh, stupid clock."

I walked out on the balcony and called out again, "Chris? Mike? Emily? This is really getting out of hand, okay?" I shook my head and continued my tirade. "It was all very funny, ha ha, look at Sam walking around in a towel, but now I just really want this to be over, alright? You had enough?"

Still no answer, but I noticed something that bothered me. Next to the stairs was a balloon with an arrow on it, pointing down the stairs. I bit my lip and made my way downstairs. I was still damp, but thankfully not dripping wet. Still didn't make me feel any less embarrassed, though. I reached the lower main room and looked around before stalking out to the front entrance.

"Can I have my clothes back now or am I supposed to hang out in a towel for the rest of the weekend?" I demanded, only to again be greeted with silence. "Towel it is, then."

It was then that something caught my eye, a strange business card for a slaughter house. On the back was a request for dead pigs and circular saw blades. While confusing, I left it. I had more pressing issues as I returned and decided to continue following the balloons that showed up, guiding me, apparently, to the basement.

"Okay, if you were trying to freak me out, guess what? You succeeded." I said, more trying to reassure myself, as I was getting unnerved by all of this.

I found that, to my surprise, the normally locked cinema room doors were wide open. I picked up the flashlight that Josh had used earlier and turned it on, stepping into the room.

"Where the hell are you guys?" I demanded. "Whoa, this is weird..."

The room was actually set up and seemed to be showing a movie, or rather, the static when a movie wasn't in focus.

I exhaled sharply. I was at the end of my tether now. "Hey! Guys, come ON! I am DONE with this! I really don't appreciate the silent treatment here!"

But my angry tirade was cut off by the cinema doors slamming shut by themselves. I screamed and turned, only to scream again when a distorted voice began to talk.

"Hello, Samantha." it said, sounding rather sarcastic and mocking. "Looking for me? I don't think you'll have much luck by looking, Samantha."

I looked around wildly, my heart pounding. "What the, what the hell…!" I whispered in fear.

The distorted voice spoke again. "You're only going to see what I want you to see, and I have quite a lot to show you."

I shook my head. "What is, what is going on…!?"

"Open your eyes."

The large screen flared to life properly and I turned to face it, my eyes widening with shock and revulsion coursed through my body as it showed footage of me in the bath. Someone had been recording me, they had seen me naked.

"Oh my God..." my words were barely breathed out. I now felt utterly violated. 'That's, that's sick...why would, urgh, this isn't...'

Revulsion, embarrassment, no, more like utter humiliation filled me.

The distorted voice continued, mocking me. "She's quite beautiful, isn't she? A beautiful bathing bird…"

I looked around frantically again. "How, why, why did you…?"

"Do you think she has any idea what lies ahead? Do you think these were the last happy moments of this creature's life?"

An icy stab of fear ran down my spine at those words. "Why are you showing this to me?"

"Why are you watching?"

With a shaky breath, I turned around before screaming at what was now being shown, footage of Josh getting cut in half.

"Josh!" I cried. "OH MY GOD, WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

I couldn't believe it, this couldn't be real. Josh was, he couldn't be…

The voice, however, took on a more menacing tone at that moment.

"I'm going to give you ten seconds...Nine..."

"No, no..." I whispered, again looking around frantically, retreating to the nearby wall. "Nonono..."

"Eight, seven..."

"Please no..."

Then the door burst open and I screamed as the Psycho entered, the grin of his mask likely hiding a sadistic grin of his own.

"Sam." he growled.

In his hand, he held a canister of some sort, attached to a nozzle and a breathing tube, connected to an oxygen mask. My heart raced with fear as an unfamiliar fizz settled in my limbs. There could be anything in that canister, I had to keep it away from me.

"No...No!" I pleaded.

But the Psycho began to draw closer.

Acting in a blind panic, I grabbed a nearby vase and threw it blindly at the Psycho, striking his arm and making him stumble. I ran for my life, running through the door at the other end of the room, down the corridor until I stopped. I was now in the guest room.

"Shit!" I cried out. I could already hear his footsteps. "Shit, shit, shit."

Wasting no time, I leapt over the bed, my flashlight guiding my path, grasping at my towel to keep it covering my body, the last thing I wanted was to lose it. Bad enough I had been so utterly humiliated being filmed naked in the bath, this wasn't helping my terrified state at all. I was only halfway over the bed when the Psycho burst through the door and laughed. Screaming, I hurried over the rest of the bed and straight through the guest room door. I ran along the hallway and down to the basement, making sure to avoid the damaged step. It had been damaged for years and nobody had ever gotten around to fixing it. I stopped and looked around. I was in the basement, near to where the boiler was. Still in a panic, I ducked down near where the boiler was located, a damaged pillar was my only cover and only went so far. I instantly shut off the flashlight and waited, fear pumping through me as I squatted, praying silently.

"Sam?" the Psycho called out, slowly walking up until he was level with the pillar. "Why are you hiding?"

I went rigid, clamping my free hand over my mouth to stifle my breathing and stayed as still as I could, praying he wouldn't hear me. He began to move away, but stopped further up the corridor, blocking my only path.

"Sa-am...why prolong the inevitable?"

Gritting my teeth against my terror, I stayed put. He looked around, seemingly at ease. The videos were all the evidence I needed; this man was dangerous.

"Why kid yourself into thinking you can get away? Don't you know I can smell you, Sam? I can smell your fear."

He mockingly tapped the gas canister and I opted to remain where I was. That turned out to be a mistake, for he turned back, walked until he was level with the pillar again, and then leapt out the other side, behind me.

"Gotcha, so sorry." he mocked.

I screamed as he grabbed me and pressed the mask over my mouth and nose, muffling my screams as the gas hissed. I instantly felt myself getting groggy and realized, whatever it was, it was going to put me to sleep. But then I remembered the last time that I had been down there, what I had spoken to Josh about, what I had left, just to my right. Acting with my last strength, I grabbed the baseball bat and smacked the Psycho on the side of the head. He cried out and fell and the mask also fell away from me. Coughing and trying to recover my equilibrium, I hurried away, turning the flashlight on again, more desperate than ever. My heart was pounding, adrenaline fueled by fear filled me, but did nothing except add to my current panic. I had to get out of there, I didn't even want to imagine what this crazy freak had planned, especially after seeing what he was capable of doing in those videos. I reached the end of a cellar corridor to find a door. I struggled to open it, only to find a problem.

I was so frantic that the words spilled out. "Are you kidding me?" I screamed in despair. "No HANDLE!?"

I heard laughter, the Psycho had caught up. Screaming, I pulled the nearby wine storage cabinet down. He stopped, however, before it could hit him. But there, on top of it, now fallen right at my feet, was the door handle. I grabbed it and frantically tried to get the door open as the Psycho began to step over the fallen cabinet, stepping right through the wood in his effort to catch me. I finally got through and slammed the door shut, locking it. But there was a grill in the door that was open and the Psycho reached in, grabbing for me.

"Ahh!" I screamed. "Get out!"

I slammed it shut on his hand, forcing him to withdraw before I closed that, too. It could only open from this side. But I couldn't stay there, it was getting more and more dangerous the longer I evaded this man.

I turned and ran to the door at the end, but it was locked. I didn't have time to do anything other than force it. I shoved my whole weight against the door again and again, until I finally broke through and fell down the gap into what appeared to be an old underground hotel. I cried out in pain as it lanced through my head, specifically at my right temple. I then remembered the bird, how it attacked me. Reaching up, I touched it. Wincing in pain at the jarring fall, I forced myself upwards and looked around. After having seen the blood on my fingers, I knew the wound had reopened. To my left was a passageway, to my right was an elevator that was half down, yet the doors still opened, providing me with a place to hide. I made up my mind at once and leapt inside the elevator shaft.

Switching off the flashlight, I ducked down and pressed myself against the wall below the door as much as possible, clutching my towel tightly. I heard his footsteps drawing closer. I frantically held my breath and shut my eyes, praying desperately. My heart was hammering so hard in my chest, I was amazed that he couldn't hear it.

"Here, little kitty." his distorted voice mocked me, right above me. "Here pussy, pussy."

My body was rigid with tension and fear as I waited, desperately not moving in hopes that it would hide my presence. No such luck. My cut had dripped blood, giving away my position. With a laugh, he leaned in and I felt the mask clamp over my mouth and nose again.

"NO, NOOO-!" I screamed out as I struggled.

But it was no use. Still not fully recovered from the previous attack, this time the gas had an almost instant effect on me and I slumped down, collapsing in a heap at the bottom of the elevator as he let go of me. My vision was blurry and I could just make him out as he lowered himself down. He was coming to get me. I was helpless, frantic with complete primal fear, not knowing what my fate would be as I sank into blackness and fell unconscious.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	19. Grant IV

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Next chapter of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 18**

GRANT POV

I bit back a sigh and tried to stay focused. It wasn't easy, the guilt was eating me up inside. I kept having my mind assaulted by the memories of seeing Jess being dragged through the window of the cabin door. Her horrifying screams echoed in my mind and I was reminded so vividly of my failure.

'Don't think about that, Grant. You can't change what happened.' I told myself, as firmly as I could.

Unfortunately, the other matters on my mind were hardly any better. Josh was dead now, too. Sam and Mike were both on their own and more than likely in danger.

I continued to fret about them. 'I said we'd hopefully run into Mike, but what are the chances? Honestly...I have faith in Chris and Ash. They'll find Sam, and they've got each others' backs...But Mike...'

My current companions did little to alleviate my worries, however.

"I can't believe Josh is dead." Emily said quietly.

Matt shuddered as he replied. "I can't believe how he died."

Emily shook her head. "No, I mean, what if they were wrong?"

"What?"

She turned to him. "Maybe we should've checked the shed, to see if it was really true."

Matt grimaced at that. "I don't know..." he replied hesitantly. "There are some things that, once you see them, you can never un-see them."

Emily sighed, shoulders slumped. "Yeah, I guess...But some things you have to see for yourself."

Matt shuddered. "I'll take their word for it."

I was about to snap at them, but something made me pause. Emily, shockingly enough, could have a point there. Nevertheless, there was an undeniable tension in the air. I could tell that Matt and Emily were still clearly angry with each other over what had happened earlier, and I was certainly not in the mood to deal with any of this right now. I couldn't let them start anything. If they did, I had no doubt that I wouldn't be able to control myself.

We approached the cable car station, only to note something odd, yet in a way, a blessing in disguise, what with there being a psycho running around. An axe was lodged in the door to the cable car station.

"Look, an axe..." Matt remarked, seeing it first. "I feel better with an axe."

Emily nodded and I smiled, now we'd have a means to protect ourselves. Matt pulled the axe from the door and Emily stepped forward to try and open it. But to our surprise, it wouldn't open.

"Oh, what now? This is locked, Matt!" Emily whined.

Matt sighed and shook his head.

"Well, break the door down, will ya?" she added.

Matt froze and I was shocked. Did she really think that that was a good idea? Matt shook his head.

"Whoa, wait a second." he told her. "We start smashing shit down and he's gonna hear us."

Emily rolled her eyes. "You got any better suggestions?"

Matt shrugged. "I dunno, what about...look!" He spotted it right away and when Emily questioned him, he pointed it out, an ajar window.

"That's great, Matt." Emily shot back, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "I can just about fit my lip balm through that little slot."

"No, come on." he urged her.

She sighed and emphasized, "You will never fit through there, big guy."

I rolled my eyes, that was enough of this, even though they hadn't started on what was no doubt the root of their anger. We did not have time for this!

"Of for fuck sake, if you're done arguing pointlessly." I snapped, removing my jacket and shoving it into Emily's hands.

They both looked at me in shock.

"Excuse me, what are you…?" Emily began, stunned.

I just stalked past her and, without the bulky jacket holding me back, I vaulted up and slid through the open window.

Once inside, I gasped at what I saw. The station was devastated, trashed, and to top it all off, threatening graffiti adorned the walls.

"Holy shit?"

"What, what?" Matt asked through the door.

I hurried over and unlocked it, letting them in. "Guys, don't freak out, we got a problem..."

I stepped back, flipping the lights on to aid us, but that just made the damage look worse. They were both frozen with shock when they saw it, too. When we finally recovered, however, we soon found a serious problem. The cable car was suspended midway out, too far to jump, and the key was gone, so we had no way of using the cable car. We started to look around, hoping to find another way. I had something else on my mind, however. Retrieving my jacket from Emily, I quickly pulled her away from Matt.

"Hey, what the hell?" she snapped.

I shook my head. "Look, don't think that you can just push us all around. Some of us are sick of your attitude and what you did to Matt. This is ridiculous, why the fuck would you do that to him, huh!? He's been nothing but good to you."

I admit, I expected anger, even for Emily to scoff and brush me off. But to my surprise, she didn't. She simply sighed and shook her head.

"I just...Grant, I don't know, I just...I moved on too fast from Mike and...my heart just wasn't in it and..."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh for fuck sake. So your heart was never fully dedicated to Matt from the start? Then why play him along? That's low, even for you."

She sighed. "Like Mike was any better than me, moving right on to Jess..."

"I get that, but at least he felt guilty when Jess found out. That doesn't mean you..."

"For fuck sake, I get that already." she replied, sounding desperate. "But despite everything, despite what you might think...I still cared about Mike. I couldn't...I just couldn't shut that off and let him go. That's why I thought that I could handle being with both guys at once."

I nodded slowly. "Fine, fine...I guess I understand what you're getting at. But Matt deserves better. You'd better think about that."

With that, I turned away.

As we returned to the main room, Matt suddenly called out, "Hey, look, a fire tower..."

We approached and saw what he was pointing out on a map. Suddenly, realizing our chances, we immediately made up a plan to get to the fire tower and hopefully find a radio to call for help.

I hoped that this would increase our chances. 'We're going off the beaten path. Who knows, maybe we'll find Mike?'

But still, we had to find a way out of the cable car station. Luckily, Emily spotted a way and tried to approach it; a ladder on the side of the building, but it was out of reach. Sharing a look with Matt, I nodded and, boosting her up, she was able to get the ladder and we made our way down, Emily first, then Matt, while I brought up the rear. After Emily found a large flashlight, which she took, we began to move around the side of the building. Unfortunately, Emily misjudged the length of the ledge and nearly fell, but Matt caught her just in time.

"Whoa, you alright?"

She gasped but nodded. "Yeah, uh...thanks, maybe...um, you should go first. To protect me."

Rolling my eyes at Emily's attempt to maintain her usual persona despite the obvious, I watched as Matt did so and they soon reached the other side, much to the relief of all three of us.

"Okay...okay..." Matt breathed, finally letting the tension release from his muscles.

Emily let out a slow breath, too. "Holy cannoli, thank God that's over."

"Tell me about it." I muttered. 'Dammit, this better work. Things are still tense...If I could just find time to talk to Matt alone...Urgh, I really shouldn't be doing this, but I guess we've already gone through too much. No one else seems to be bothering to fix this, so I guess it's up to me, typical. So much for being the bad boy, Grant.'

Still, we continued and began to head up the snowy path, searching for the best route to the fire tower. Before long, we reached a large snowy path and began looking around, until we were soon stopped by a steep cliff.

"No go here. C'mon." I muttered.

They both nodded and we turned away, only to be stopped by an unusual screaming noise and soon we were surrounded.

'Oh, shit.'

We were surrounded indeed. We were trapped by the cliff edge by a horde of caribou deer. Panic gripping us, Matt and Emily and I stood warily at the edge of the cliff. The deer surrounded us, some moving a bit closer, but we couldn't move back any further.

"Matt…!" Emily cried out, terror coating her voice. "What are you gonna do? What are you gonna do!?"

I looked over at Matt, who tightened his grip on the axe for a minute, but then relaxed it. I nodded and silently urged him to stay calm and focused.

He replied calmly, "Stay calm... relax... they're just deer... they just want to check us out, is all…"

"No, no, no, Matt they're gonna hurt us-" Emily whimpered, not at all reassured.

I rolled my eyes. "Emily, relax for fuck sake! Let's just, take this slow...Matt, whatever you do, do not hurt them or startle them in any way."

Matt nodded. "Yeah, I got it."

Once ready, we began to walk carefully towards the herd. As we began to move through them, the deer stepped back, or moved around us, allowing us to walk through the herd without much issue. However, amongst the deer were their close cousins; Elk. One was now blocking our path. Matt stopped, prompting Emily and I to do the same. The Elk sniffed at him but he did not react. I cringed.

'Fuck sake, Matt, stay cool, stay cool, don't...' To my relief, he restrained himself, but I could see that he was struggling.

The temptation to use the axe against this potential threat must have been strong, especially as more time passed. The Elk sniffed at him but simply would not back down, or even move. I could sense Emily getting restless and trembling next to me. I was edgy myself. Thankfully, resisting the urge to attack, Matt, at last, slowly began to move again and, to our relief, the Elk backed down.

Finally, we emerged from the herd, unharmed, and reached a small bundle of rocks that we could climb. Quickly doing so, both Matt and Emily dropped down and I dropped down shortly afterwards. We now found ourselves on the path that would lead us to the radio tower, amazingly falling into place with our plans perfectly. Almost too perfectly...

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	20. Mike IV

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 19 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks.  
thedarkpokemaster: Welcome back; glad to hear you are better and are enjoying the story; well, wait and see :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 19**

MIKE POV

I crouched by a wall, near the building I had seen. I ached all over from the running and climbing. The cold bit into my body and I was still trying to process what I has seen back in the mines, with Jess.

"Jesus." I muttered, ducking down before I was seen.

The stranger I had followed from the mines, the one I was sure was behind what happened to Jess, was walking up the path towards the building. I had heard growling and, peeking over the wall again, saw that the stranger wasn't alone. Two wolves were with him, then the stranger began to turn his head.

"Dammit." I muttered, ducking again.

I watched as the stranger seemed to close a door in the side of the building, before moving to the front of the building and entering.

"Alright..." I muttered to myself. "Let's get a closer look."

I grunted, trying to ignore the pain as I climbed over the wall, still carrying the lantern.

Walking towards the building, my mind replayed those last horrifying moments again and again. 'Dammit, Jess. I'm so sorry, I...I...I swear I will get this guy, he will pay for what he did to you.'

I paused by the door. I wondered if I should risk it. Then I decided to check what the stranger had been doing first, in case it offered an alternative. I soon figured out where I was when I came across a sign on the building, labeling it as condemned, yet also identifying it as a sanatorium.

"Awesome. Why wouldn't I end up at the creepiest place on planet Earth?" I remarked sarcastically.

I reached where the stranger had been and found a metal plate against the wall. Grunting and muttering in exertion, I pushed it aside to reveal, just as I had suspected, another entrance to the sanatorium, leading into the basement, by the look of it. I carefully clambered in and jumped down to the floor before looking around.

"Dammit, alright..."

I knew that I was going in blind here, the lantern was my only light source and I had no idea of the layout of the building. Still, I continued onward, searching the building as thoroughly as I could. There wasn't much room to move about, but I saw a hole in the ceiling. If I got up to the elevated path, I could then hopefully find something to use to climb through it, and that would hopefully take me into the main building. Careful searching turned up a barrel, which I set the lantern on and, preparing myself, I began pushing it until it was in the perfect position. Retrieving the lantern, I climbed onto the barrel and up onto the elevated path. I couldn't believe my luck when I found solid footing in the form of a broken machine on its side, right underneath the hole. I wasted no time climbing up and poking my head out of the hole, seeing my immediate surroundings.

"Whoa, that's different." I commented as I pulled myself up into what appeared to be the main floor of the building.

The sanatorium was in complete disrepair. It was clear that some parts of it had completely collapsed; there were fallen walls and I was certain that some of the doors were busted. The only plus side I could see right now was that I was out of the snow, away from the freezing cold. It helped me focus my mind on my pursuit, my determination for vengeance. I was feeling horribly guilty. If I hadn't been so stupid and selfish, Jess would likely never have ended up in the situation she had been in. This was my fault and I knew it. Knowing that I had to start somewhere, I approached the first door that didn't seem to be a dead end, apparently leading to the chapel, according to the sign. Peeking through a window by the door, I saw the stranger again, throwing something to the two wolves who began eating it.

"Whoa, what the…?" I whispered, praying it was an old-fashioned dog bone or animal meat and not human.

Trying the door, I found, to my frustration, that it was locked, I needed a keycard of some sort. I peeked through again and saw the stranger was gone and the wolves were just leaving. I had no choice now, I would have to search wherever I could, leaving no stone unturned, to find the keycard. Turning away from the chapel, I began my search in the very hall I was currently in. All my search turned up was administration notes to the sanatorium staff about the arrival of a group of miners who had been caught in a cave-in at the mines. It was dated 1952. The notes also mentioned that the press were being forced away from the building.

I couldn't deny that I didn't like what I was discovering; what appeared to be a decades old cover-up. However, all of this could wait until I found that man and made him pay.

'Gotta keep moving. C'mon, it's gotta be here somewhere.' I told myself.

However, I was once again confronted with the 1952 mine mystery when, while searching the admin office, I came across a broken camera and a partially opened safe with a wooden stake next to it.

"Whoa, someone really wanted to take a peek inside." I noted before finishing the job.

Inside, I uncovered thirty clocking-in cards for miners. I deduced then that this was the number of miners caught in the cave-in. I still couldn't understand about the broken camera, however, only that the damage looked deliberate. Mystery was piling upon mystery here. I briefly considered that maybe this stranger was looking into this 1952 mystery and these were clues that he had gathered. It appeared that the sanatorium, which seemed the center of said mystery, was also, conveniently, his base.

Shaking my head, I reminded myself, 'But then, why attack Jess? What is he hiding? What is he up to?'

Resuming my search for the keycard, I began heading down the corridor, towards what the signs indicated was the morgue, just what I needed to cheer myself up.

There were still a couple of offices, just before the steps leading down to the morgue, that were accessible, so I checked them first. In the first office, I found an old newspaper that detailed an assault on a reporter, suddenly making sense of the broken camera.

"Huh, intrigue on Blackwood Mountain." I mused.

It was clear now that something was definitely being hidden here, covered up, especially when the other office yielded medical reports that did not tally with my findings so far; a report on only twelve miners, not thirty. Eighteen were unaccounted for. Perplexed, but by no means distracted, I made my way down the steps towards the morgue. In the outer corridor, I came across a partially open room. Debris prevented me from actually entering but I could see a bird sitting on a table right by the door and embedded in said table was a machete.

'Urgh, just great...Well, I think I'm gonna need a weapon...better than nothing.' I told myself before reaching for it.

The bird cawed and flew away while I was able to finally pull the machete free. Grimacing, I stuck it in my belt and continued my search of the morgue itself. Noticing an odd shape behind a curtain, I pulled it aside to find a restraining chair, soaked in blood.

"Holy shit..." I gasped. "Ugh, what happened here?"

My continued exploration of the morgue offices and rooms led me to find another part of the 1952 mystery; a telegram, which seemed to indicate that there was indeed only twelve miners brought to the sanatorium, but thirty had indeed gone down the mines during that fateful excursion and that a massive cover-up was underway.

I shook my head at the fear of reporters flooding the place. 'Gee, who wouldn't want press snooping around in this paradise?'

My search then led me to another room, of which I could not identify the original purpose. Whatever the room used to be, it now only featured several tables and boxes and, strangely enough, a moving arm attached to a table, which jerked back and forth at irregular intervals. I grimaced, but shook my head. I didn't really want to look too closely at it. In fact, I couldn't waste time. I needed to hurry, that guy had likely gotten away by now. But where to go? There were so many ways. I looked around, worriedly. Luckily, I got a hint as I approached one door, the temperature dropped. I recalled from the various crime dramas I sometimes saw that morgues had to be relatively cold places. It had to be through there.

Entering the morgue, I was face to face with a strange, deformed, but still human skull on a shelf.

'This place just gets better and better.' I thought sarcastically.

Continuing my search, I found, to my frustration, that the door out was locked and required a keycard, the same keycard I needed for entering the chapel, too.

I growled as I turned to survey the room again. 'You've gotta be kidding.'

There was only one place I hadn't searched...three, actually. Three body drawers, the only ones not rusted shut. Forcing myself, I examined them. The first brought out a name tag of a man named Nicholas Bowen, the second was a death certificate for a Sarah Smith. It was clear that they were part of the 1952 mystery, especially the death certificate, which seemed to indicate that Sarah had been partially...eaten by something with very human teeth.

Opening the third drawer, I thought disgustedly to myself, 'Okay, is drawer number three the winner?'

Inside was an uncovered body. I nearly threw up, especially when a rat climbed out of the corpse's mouth. Containing myself, I was able to spot just what I needed; the chapel keycard on the body. I picked it up and turned away gratefully. I reached the locked door again, unlocked it, and, taking the keycard with me, entered the next corridor, which appeared to be in the back part of the chapel. I began climbing the stairs when I was ambushed by one of the wolves. Crying out, I ran for my life, the wolf right on my heels, growling and snapping at me.

With a mighty effort, I escaped the wolf, slamming the door shut behind me. Relieved, I fought desperately for breath, pretty sure that I was going to give myself a heart attack at this rate. I realized I was in the upper levels of the chapel and could see down below. I needed to get back to the chapel's main door, so I followed the path and climbed down a fallen staircase.

"Oh, right, back in here." I muttered with relief.

I was back in the main entrance, steps away from the chapel main doors. I hurried over as best as I could in my winded state and opened them before entering. Just then, I heard a growl and turned sharply to my left. The other wolf was there, growling at me. On instinct, I almost lashed out, but then told myself not to. Instead, I stepped back, holding up my hands. The wolf growled, but in a less threatening manner.

"Okay...okay..." I said softly. "Easy boy, easy, easy...that's a good boy."

I gently edged to the side and the wolf let me pass, settling itself down on the floor. I let out a relieved sigh and began to examine the room. My first point of interest in the run down, rubble-filled chapel was a wooden chest, filled with bones.

"Maybe this'll keep the wolves fat and happy." I said to myself, almost laughing in relief.

It seemed my earlier concern had been wrong. Taking one of the bones, I approached the wolf and whistled, getting its attention. I held out the bone and the wolf slowly came closer before gently taking it from my hand. I stroked the wolf and smiled as the animal seemed much more friendly now.

Once I finished patting the wolf, I resumed my search around the room, now no longer paranoid about being attacked from behind by the wolf. I spotted a cigar box with only one cigar left in it.

Something else then caught my eye; a wall that was covered in various newspaper clippings, all of them about strange disappearances and it did not make me any happier about the man I was pursuing.

One thing I did benefit from during my search was a slightly tattered olive green army jacket. Smirking, I pulled it on, relieved for the extra heat it provided.

"So...what have we here?" Through a gap in a mesh fence just behind where the jacket hung was a gun. Reaching in, I tried to grab it, but couldn't reach it.

"Come on!"

Shaking my head, I instead reached lower to a leg that was holding the shelf against the wall and, with a bit of effort, pulled it off, making the gun slide into my hand. I smiled, I still had the machete, and now had a gun. Now, I felt like I had a better chance.

Approaching the door at the back of the room, the only possible exit that the stranger could have taken, I shot the lock off and moved into the next room. Searching this area unearthed only a large stone memorial to 'the miracle men', the twelve surviving miners, still with no mention of the missing eighteen. Following the large staircase downwards into an underground area, I found another gate blocking my path and several barrels.

"Of course it's locked." I muttered.

Shoving an empty barrel out of the way, I took aim and fired, breaking the lock.

But my victory was short lived as I tried to go through the gate, for then I saw the fire. Some of the barrels were filled with flammable liquid and some had spilled onto the floor and the sparks from shooting the lock had ignited it. Seeing this, I began to back off.

"Shit, shit, shit..." I cried out as I tried to flee. "URGH!"

I cried out as the small explosion occurred, knocking me backwards onto the ground. I soon recovered, however, and picked myself up. Thankfully, I wasn't badly hurt, so I could still resume my search. I had to hurry. I began to worry that things were about to get a whole lot worse.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	21. Grant V

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 20 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
thedarkpokemaster: Yes indeed, thanks, glad you are enjoying it.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 20**

GRANT POV

Letting out a sigh of relief, we were finally out of that danger. I followed as Emily began to lead the way, holding the flashlight steady again. As we walked, I could see her eyes narrowed, clearly thinking carefully.

"If we do manage to get someone on the radio-" she began.

"We will." Matt insisted.

I saw her smiling at his confidence before she continued, "Then we tell them we need help. What do we do while we wait?"

I had to admit, that was a good point. I wondered that myself.

Matt answered after thinking about it for a moment. "I guess we go back to the lodge and get everyone else."

"Oh God, not the lodge." Emily shook her head. "We should stay here. In case whoever it is needs to get back in touch with us?"

"Let's get that radio working first."

I nodded slowly. "Matt's right, we're getting ahead of ourselves."

Emily didn't argue, apparently silently agreeing. We'd try and call for help first, then we could worry about what to do next. We were almost at the tower, now it was just above us, across a small snowy clearing. As we approached the base of the tower, a blinding light suddenly flared to life.

"Ahh, that's freakin' bright!" Emily cried out, holding a hand in front of her eyes.

I turned away, silently cursing. "Son of a bitch..."

Matt did the same and grimaced. "No kidding!"

Emily shook her head, frustrated. "I can't see- what is that?"

"It's just a security light." Matt confirmed at last, squinting to try and see. "Motion sensor probably."

Squinting, I saw that he was right. Typical, things had become so fucked up around here that we were jumping at normal things now. I saw Emily bite her lip before we followed Matt, keeping our eyes squinted until we were past the light. As we did so, I shook my head in frustration, brushing my hair back again. We were now at the base of the fire tower and would have to climb the ladders to get up to the main room.

Seeing this, Matt reluctantly put down the axe and we began our climb, with Emily in the lead. I brought up the rear.

"Ugh." she grit her teeth as we climbed the second ladder and complained, "Why is it so windy all of a sudden?"

I heard Matt do his best to calm her. "We're almost inside."

Meanwhile, I merely thought to myself, 'Urgh, take it easy, is there anything you don't complain about?'

We climbed the third ladder, finally reaching our destination. Once inside, we closed and latched the trapdoor.

We began to look around the tower room. Finding the radio, Emily tried to interact with it, but got nothing.

"Ah, come ON! Great." she cried out before realizing, "No power. Gotta be a switch or something around here..."

I nodded slowly. For once, I was on the same page as her and her complaint was at least valid.

Resuming our search, we had no choice but to venture outside into the catwalk around the tower room. Exiting through the door once we opened it, we found a fuse box almost immediately. Emily opened it and flicked the switch and grinned as the power flared to life in the tower.

"Fuck yeah, here we go!"

"Nice work." Matt replied, also grinning.

I smirked, relieved that things were finally going our way for once.

As we closed the door behind us, I savored the return of the warmth, quickly approaching the radio along with the others.

Emily got to work, trying to fine tune the radio to pick up any broadcasts that we could communicate with for help. She gasped as she heard one, although it wasn't very clear.

"Ranger service for Blackwood County. Over."

"Hello? Anyone there?" she tried, hoping that she could get through. She had found just who we were looking for, the people best equipped to help us. "Hello! Please say something if you're out there! Please, we need help! Over! Over! Shit."

I remained tense, hoping against hope that this would work. But the way things were going, I wouldn't be surprised if this failed. There was a pause, and then suddenly...

"...Hello?" the ranger spoke.

Emily gasped and spoke at once. "Oh my god, thank you! We need help, please!"

The ranger replied and it was clear that he had at least picked something up from us. "...Hello, is someone trying to contact us? This is the park ranger service for Blackwood County. I'm not getting your signal very well. Please speak slowly and clearly, over."

Emily tired to, but I saw that she was too worked up, everything came spilling out. "Please, please, please, please help! Oh my god, we're stuck on Blackwood mountain and there's a maniac..."

"If you can hear this, please repeat your message as I am unable to understand what you are saying, over. "

Emily grew more desperate. "We need help, please!"

The ranger continued, however. "Hello? Can you please identify yourself? Over."

I sighed and touched Emily's shoulder. She turned to me and I spoke quietly. "Calm down, deep breath, talk clearly." I whispered.

She nodded and took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. So, trying hard to maintain her self-control, she did as the ranger requested.

"Oh my god." she whispered before speaking slowly and clearly. "Okay, this is...My name is Emily...hello?"

She checked the tuning on the radio as the ranger replied, "You're not coming through clearly, please repeat, over."

She shook her head and tried to explain, as calmly as possible, what had happened. So, she cleared her throat and explained, "We're on... Blackwood Mountain... by the ski lodge... there's a killer and he's after us and he's already killed one of our friends. Oh God, please help, you've got to help us!"

Just then, the security light below flared to life again, startling us both. I spun around, but Matt rushed to the window and spoke.

"Something tripped the motion sensor." Matt muttered, before trying to reassure us, most likely. "Probably a fucking deer."

Emily was about to reply when the ranger spoke again.

"I read you, ma'am. Please do not leave your position."

We all grinned and relaxed, until his next words.

"We will send out helicopters to get you as soon as the storm has subsided, over." the ranger explained.

Sharing a worried look with Matt, Emily tried to get clarification, while I just sighed and shook my head.

She asked intently, "What? When? How long?"

The ranger hesitated before replying, "Dawn, at the earliest. Not until dawn, over."

Before we could say anything else, the hatch banged loudly. Someone or something was trying to enter.

"Jesus!" Matt cried out, stepping back.

Emily backed herself into one of the corners, panicking. "Oh my god, he's here, he's coming for me!" she cried out.

I cringed, all the while thinking, 'For all of us, Emily. All of us.'

The banging then stopped and things seemed to calm down, until the tower rocked violently and began tipping. Emily screamed and Matt cried out, both of them stumbling as the tower sagged and rocked again. As for me, I fell flat on my ass right away with a shout.

"OH MY GOD, MATT! WHAT IS HAPPENING?!" Emily screamed in raw terror.

Matt could only cry out, "The tower!"

At the same time, Emily yelled, "Oh God!"

The tower began to fall. Matt tried to reach for Emily but was unable to do so. Finally, the tower lay on its side. Emily had fallen and landed hard on one of the windows, which had cracked badly. She was now sporting a bloody nose and a scratch on her forehead from the impact. Matt, meanwhile, was hanging from a support beam, clutching it for dear life. Me, I was clutching onto a support beam too, tangled up against it and a desk which had become wedged between two of the support pillars.

"Fuck sake..." I growled, trying to free myself.

"No..." I heard Emily breath through the pain.

"No, Emily! Emily!" Matt yelled out.

I looked up and saw it; the printer was about to fall right on top of Emily. Crying out, she rolled out of the way and the printer broke through the window. As she tried to recover, the radio also fell and she screamed as she fell through the window, now hanging onto one of the catwalk bars.

"Fuck me! Jesus, shit!" she cried out. "Shit, ahh, no, don't, no!"

She barely had time to articulate as Matt also cried out, "OH, SHIT!" as the tower fell more and tumbled down, into the mines below.

* * *

"Oh, fuck!" Those were the first words out of my mouth as I finally recovered. The tower had fallen and was now only just hanging. We were underground, in the mines that ran under the mountain. I lifted myself up. It was a struggle. I could see Matt also moving slowly and carefully, climbing his way out of the tower, which shook ominously as he did so. I did so too, losing my jacket, along with the beanie in my pocket at the same time. But truthfully, I didn't care as I stood with Matt and we both saw that the tower was hanging precariously over a long drop; almost certainly too far to have good survival chances.

"Oh fuck...dammit, dammit!" he muttered. I agreed with him entirely.

"MAAATTT!" Emily suddenly screamed. "OH GOD! MATT, HELP ME PLEAAAAASE!"

Startled, we moved carefully, Matt calling out as we did so. "I'm comin'! I'm comin'! Em, this is pretty unsteady over here…"

He said it as a warning, for he now stood, looking over the edge of the tower, which was shaking some more. Emily was there, hanging onto the bars, desperate and clearly terrified.

"Matt, you've got to do something right NOW!" she screamed. "What are you WAITING FOR!?"

He shook his head. "I'm thinking, let me think!"

She grit her teeth and screamed again. "Don't think, you idiot! Just get me outta here!"

Matt shook his head. Even while hanging precariously from a fallen radio tower and close to death, Emily still had her sharp tongue and bitchy attitude. All directed at him, the only person who had even the smallest chance of saving her, no less.

I rolled my eyes, but Matt, despite himself, glared at her before sighing and speaking.

"I'm gonna try and get to you and pull you up."

I shook my head. "Matt, together, we're too heavy. If you try to get Emily now, this tower's gonna fall."

"So what do you suggest?" he shot back, exasperated.

I bit my lip and looked around, spotting a ledge. "Alright, I'll probably hate myself for this, but I'm gonna jump over there."

I knew that Emily could hear me too, since I saw the desperation in her eyes.

"Grant, hurry! The tower…!" she cried out.

I nodded and moved as carefully as I could before then leaping over to the ledge. The tower shook violently, but held.

Matt nodded to me and tested his weight carefully on the tower. It seemed to be holding for now.

"I'm gonna try and get to you and pull you up." he said at last.

With a gasp of relief, she shot back. "Now will you please get me off of this goddamned tower?! Please, please, please, Matt! Just do something!"

Matt began to cautiously edge closer to the ledge that Emily was hanging from. All the while, I watched, worriedly.

He reached out for her. "I'm coming...here...ugh!"

Emily screamed and Matt forced himself upright as the tower shook again, falling down a bit, nearly coming completely off the rocks, which were now the only thing holding it up.

"Shit, oh shit!" she cried. "Matt!" She had fallen and grabbed onto another railing. Only now, it was the last one. Another fall and she wouldn't have anything to save herself with.

Matt panicked, trying to equalize his weight. "I don't wanna tip it."

I tensed, this wasn't good. "Guys..."

"Oh...come on, come on..." he muttered as he tried again.

He moved slowly and soon was lying flat, ready to reach out. Emily looked up at him.

"Jesus!" she hissed, pleadingly. She reached up for his hand, praying that he could save her. But then the tower shook more violently and Emily lost her grip.

"EMILY!" he cried out, watching in horror as she fell, screaming. "Oh fuck, oh fuck!"

I froze in disbelief, which only made things worse as I was forced to watch as the tower then fell, Matt being thrown from it and out of sight. The tower was gone from view and Matt and Emily were gone.

"Fuck! Fuck, no!" I cried out. 'Not again...'

Looking around, I saw that I had no choice. I had to find a way out, and pray that the others were still alright. As I moved down the tunnel from the ledge, I froze, hearing a strange skittering noise, moving nearby, then getting further away. I had no idea what it was, but I realized, worryingly, that I wasn't alone down there.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	22. Jess IV

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 21 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
** **Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
thedarkpokemaster: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, no, indeed :(**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 21**

JESS POV

Cold. Biting, freezing cold. Pain. Burning, bubbling. A pretty even mixture of both was all that I felt. I didn't know how long it had been, but when I finally realized just what I was feeling, my eyes snapped open.

"Oh God..." I whispered. I suddenly became aware of how dark it was, how...dank.

I sat up sharply, only to stop. "Ow, fuck!" I choked out.

My pain intensified so much, that I was almost blinded by it. I slowly breathed, trying to focus again. When my vision cleared, I saw, at least partially, the state that I was in. I could feel the sticky, slick blood on my face from the various injuries that I had. There were rips and tears in my jeans and T-shirt.

"Oh, shit. God..." I muttered as I tried to get up. "What the fuck..."

Whimpering, I finally got myself to my feet, wrapping my arms around myself and trying to warm up. But even that small movement hurt me.

'Urgh, c'mon, Jess, think...I, I was with Grant in the cabin and we...almost kissed and then...God.' I shuddered as I remembered. 'All that glass, whatever it was...it...'

I could only imagine how I looked. That thing had savaged me. The pain that I still felt, the blood, the wounds, it all felt so surreal. Yet at the same time, so very present. It was so horrible.

I looked around, taking in my surroundings, trying to distract myself from those horrible thoughts. I was in what looked like an old abandoned mine shaft. I had fallen down there on the broken elevator beneath me, the cold metal biting into my bare feet. I cringed and then spotted something.

"Gotta..." I whispered to myself, all the while thinking, 'Anything, anything will do, just, please...'

I staggered over to what I had seen. Hanging on a metal hook was a ratty old miner's coat and some large miner's boots lay on the ground beneath it. I reached up, wincing at the pain that rocketed through my body at that moment. Getting the coat, I lifted it off the hook and pulled it on, despite its old, ratty look and musty smell. It gave me some warmth, at least. I struggled to get the boots on, both due to the pain and their size, they were a bit too big for me. I finally got them on and straightened up, looking around again, trying to ignore my pain and the slick feeling, especially on my left cheek.

'Gotta...gotta find a way out.' I thought desperately. 'Urgh, man, it hurts...How am I gonna get out of here? Grant, Mike...anyone, please, just please, let someone find me, even if just to get me out of here.'

I wasn't sure if I could keep going, this was all getting too much for me to take. I actually truly felt like I was going to die down there. Then I heard the strange noise, followed by the skittering, and my heart sped up. Now I was even more afraid than ever. I wasn't alone down there.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	23. Chris IV

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 22 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
thedarkpokemaster: Thanks, yeah, she is, the question is, will she survive?**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 22**

CHRIS POV

I sighed as I began to make my way down the stairs, back to the main room. We had returned to the lodge and searched frantically for Sam, but when I searched upstairs, I couldn't find her anywhere. I was now heading back down to rejoin Ashley. She was pacing frantically, looking petrified. The left side of her face and clothes were still stained with Josh's blood and it still looked sticky.

"She wasn't up there?" she queried as she stopped and looked up, seeing me.

I shook my head sadly. "I don't know, I didn't see her...She must have come down here."

As I said that, I gestured to the signs; balloons with arrows and, at least until they faded, damp, bare footprints. She had probably gotten out of the bathtub and walked downstairs.

Ashley shook her head. "I haven't seen her, either."

I bit my lip, worried. Using my own flashlight, I lead the way and we began to walk around towards the stairs leading to the basement, incidentally following the arrows on the balloons. Just then, the candle to Ashley's left, on the table, suddenly lit by itself.

"Ahh!" she screamed. "Did that just happen?"

I shook my head, I was seriously getting freaked out now. "Dammit, what is going on around here?!"

I could tell, like me, Ashley was all the more desperate to find Sam now, so we continued onward. We made our way downstairs and, seeing that the door was open, into the cinema room. Just then, I realized that Ashley had stopped, just as I was about to call out Sam's name.

"Chris..." she said suddenly.

"Sa-!" I began to call out, but stopped. "What?"

I watched as she shuffled her feet and shyly spoke. "Chris, I just want to say, what happened back there in the shed...I know how hard that was. Josh was your friend..."

I turned to her, shaking my head. "Ashley, stop."

But she continued. "No, I want to say...I mean, thank you. Thank you for saving my life-"

I shook my head. "Ash, what was I gonna do? I...I couldn't let anything happen to you, I couldn't..."

We both stood awkwardly, aware of the various meanings implied by my words.

Finally, I broke the silence. "Let's just find Sam, okay?" I said firmly. "That's what we're doing now."

Nodding, Ashley followed me as we exited the cinema room and into the hallway, just as the door suddenly slammed shut behind us.

"What the heck?!" Ashley whimpered in despair.

This was seriously doing a number on her nerves, I could see that. I gently put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and she exhaled softly, trying to relax. It only lasted until she tried to open the door to the guest room. It suddenly closed, nearly taking her hand with it.

"This is so eff-ed up!" I cried out.

Ashley nodded. I was frustrated. All we wanted was to find Sam and get the hell out, but I couldn't help but wonder and worry about the others.

"Wait a minute!" Ashley screamed as we went through a door at the other end of the hall, which opened by itself. "Did you see that?"

"Uhh..." I replied, turning. "Did I see what?"

"That, Chris! That!" she cried out, gesturing.

I shook my head. "What 'that' was that?"

Groaning, she tried to explain. "It was like...a see-through shape, like a ghost."

"Oh boy."

"I'm serious, why don't you believe me!?" she insisted. "I said I saw it, doesn't that count for anything?"

Ashley was frantic and I wanted to calm her down. This incident in particular was crazy and I didn't want to say the wrong thing. I tried to help her understand where I was coming from, without insulting her.

"We've been through Hell tonight. Okay? Your mind is fried. My mind is fried." I explained, adding gently, "I don't even trust what I've been seeing."

Ashley sighed. "I don't know, I don't know...I just, I saw something, Chris."

I gently touched her arm. "Ash, it's okay. You're just... we're both... kind of out of our heads right now. I mean, we just... we gotta pull it together, okay? You with me?"

She bowed her head and I said softly, "Let's just keep our heads."

"Are we going crazy down here?" she whimpered.

I didn't know, but I reasoned, "It's the only place left that Sam could be, Ash."

She agreed and we walked on a bit, before stopping again.

"I wish that we could just go and find everybody else and-"

"What if Sam needs us?" I asked. "What if she's in trouble?"

"Oh God..."

Just then, the door to the basement opened by itself. Steeling myself, I gently urged Ashley to follow. She did, and together, we made our way down. Once down, we were greeted by a loud noise, followed by a louder one, and then a cabinet to our right jerked as an item flew from the shelf, nearly hitting me. We both leapt back, startled.

"WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!" I yelled. "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"

Ashley backed away, freaked out more than ever. "What the HELL is going ON!?"

Ashley then suddenly screamed, getting my attention. She shook her head, holding up a hand to reassure me. "Oh my god, that scared me."

"You knocked into it, right?" I queried, worried. "You knocked into it?"

Ashley groaned. "I don't...I don't think so, I mean, I don't know."

She turned back to me, clearly upset. I couldn't blame her.

"How did everything get so freaky around here? Doors slamming and candles lighting up out of nowhere and that specter or whatever it was-"

I tried to reason with her. "Ashley, I think you're kind of ignoring what's really happening here..."

Ashley gestured and replied, actually sounding irritated for once. "Don't tell me you didn't see that translucent white figure just passing right by us?"

"We...we could be seeing things-"

"I'm not imagining things!" she insisted.

I sighed and replied firmly, reminding her, "Yeah, well, I saw things, too! I saw what happened to Josh in the shed! You know? And that's what I'm worried about!"

Ashley's shoulder's slumped, her anger evaporating. She looked up at me, contrite. I couldn't deny that it still hurt, knowing what I had done.

"Oh...Chris..." she whispered softly, "I know, I know."

Shaking my head, I tried to reassure her and we resumed our journey. It was difficult, having to find keys and more encounters with the 'ghost'. I actually saw it that time, or at least saw "something."

Things changed, however, as we ended up underground and I reached a doorway. I stopped dead, looking through the doorway.

"Wait, there's a whole 'nother room through here." I gasped. "It's mammoth."

I heard Ashley groan, but she followed me and soon we stopped, gazing in wonder at the ruin of what seemed to be an old hotel, right underneath the Washington's ski lodge.

Walking slowly onward, Ashley whispered, "Where in the world are we now?"

"Are you kidding me?" I exclaimed.

She turned to me. "Did you know this was here?"

I shook my head. "This? This is like a whole 'nother hotel, I had no idea that this was here."

Ashley shuddered, but nodded, and we continued onward. We had no idea where we were going, so much of what we found freaked us out and I had to urge Ashley to keep going. Some of what we found was downright disturbing. But we pressed on, desperate to find Sam before something happened to her.

Our journey led us to, of all things, a door smeared with blood.

"Oh crap, look at that..."

"Blood?!" Ashley gasped, worried.

I nodded, sharing her worries. "Might be Sam's...let me see if I can get this.."

I began trying to open it, but it was struggle. "Ugh, got it. But...damn, this thing is heavy."

Ashley stepped closer. "Be careful!"

"You gotta come through...Ash..." I told her. "I can't hold it...ugh, come on..."

It was then that Ashley turned to her right. "Oh, Chris!"

"What?" I grunted.

"I think I just saw Sam over there." she said quickly, pointing.

I shook my head "Ash...are you SURE?"

She sighed and shook her head. "I don't know, but come on, I think we should check it out."

"Well, I'm pretty sure whoever's bleeding came through here, okay? So we really got to get moving, like, now!" I pointed out.

Ashley pondered briefly. "Okay, yeah, you're right." she said at last, before moving closer. "I'm coming."

With that, we were able to slip through the door, which slammed shut behind us. We recovered quickly and began searching again until we came to a room with double doors.

We heard a muffled shout. "Nh, plmhfm nh!"

I stared and looked at Ashley. She nodded and we pushed the doors open, entering a darkened room.

"Sam!" Ashley cried out.

I gasped. The room was dark, but we could see Sam sitting in a chair in the middle of it. She was clad in only a towel, tied to the chair, and was tightly gagged by a length of cloth, wound tightly through her mouth. We hurried over.

Sam shook her head, wide-eyed, crying out, "Ghrnf, Hfh, lhhg hht!"

Suddenly, someone grabbed me and I felt a mask being clamped over my mouth and nose. I heard a hissing sound and became light-headed. I was being gassed and knocked out.

I hit the ground, my vision fading. I could hear Ashley screaming, Sam's muffled screams...then darkness.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	24. Ashley III

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 22 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
thedarkpokemaster: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, yeah, things are heating up now, well, read on and see what's next :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 23**

ASHLEY POV

I groaned while Chris looked around frantically. We had both just woken up to find ourselves in a rather bland room, except for the centre, where we were. In the centre was a table with two chairs. We found ourselves tied to these chairs, sitting across from each other. Ominously, a gun was situated on the table in front of us. Chris was utterly helpless, strapped in and unable to get free. To my surprise, my right hand had been left free.

"Ohh, shit...oh crap..." he muttered, looking around. "Ash? ASH!"

I groaned again, still feeling the pain in my face, but I lifted my head to look at him and he gasped.

"Jesus, Ash, what did he do to you?"

I was still feeling dizzy and had only a vague recollection of the encounter that I'd had with the masked man. I was sure that I was sporting a heavy black eye, bruising all the way around my left eye.

"I think...he hit me." I choked out, wincing at the pain.

Chris growled. "Shit. I'm gonna murder his fucking face off."

I looked around frantically. "What is this?"

"This is him..." Chris realized. "This is the guy who killed Josh-"

"No, Chris! Oh my god, no!" I screamed, realizing now that we had to be in some sort of death trap.

I was panicking. I could feel it building inside me; raw terror. "Oh God...Chris.!"

Chris looked around, fuming. In his anger, he yelled out, "You murdering piece of shit! You MONSTER!"

"Look around!" I cried out. I couldn't help it, my terror got the better of me. "We're gonna die, Chris! I'm not ready to die!"

I could see Chris biting his lip, clearly worried. I wondered if he was actually worried about me. Despite the fear, just the hope of that sent a warm feeling through me.

He gently spoke, shaking his head softly. "No one is going to die." he tried to sound convincing.

I looked at him, teary-eyed, my vision almost blurring. "I wish I could tell you. It's just not fair!"

"What?" he asked, confused. "Tell me what?"

"It's too late! Chris, what's the point!?"

Chris shook his head. "Stop it, just say..."

I looked at him and through the terror and tears, despite being tied to chairs and likely awaiting a death trap, I felt something. I could also see something in his eyes. I couldn't hold back any longer, I had to admit the truth.

"We're always talking around it." I choked out through my tears. "And now, I mean, we've wasted everything!"

Chris spoke softly. "Ashley...none of it was wasted."

"What do you mean?" Surely, I hadn't heard that right.

"Every second that I spent with you was only thing I ever wanted to do with my time." he confessed, letting his voice carry his emotions.

"What are you saying, Chris?" I could scarcely believe it. Was Chris truly admitting that he had feelings for me? Also, what a place for it.

"I'm sorry..." Chris said at last. "I should have told you how I felt."

"Chris…!" I whispered, realizing the truth at last. Now we both did.

Chris nodded and began to talk. "Ashley, I swear, when we get out of this-"

But his words were cut short by a horribly familiar sound. We looked up in terror as two circular saws situated above us turned on and began their deadly high speed rotations. All the while, slowly, but inexorably descending towards us.

I screamed and tried to free myself, but couldn't get loose. Chris tugged as his bonds uselessly.

"Oh, God!"

"AHH!" I screamed. "No! Chris!"

He spoke swiftly but firmly with renewed resolve. "Ashley...We'll get out of this. I won't let you die!"

"Hello there, my special little subjects."

I screamed and began sobbing as the Psycho spoke again. Unseen, but no doubt watching.

"I'm so scared, Chris..." I sobbed uncontrollably.

"Aw, shit..." he muttered before talking again. "Don't be scared-"

The Psycho cut across him. "Oh you should be, Ash...Because here's the twist. Chris has made one fatal choice already today. And now, it is your turn."

There was a pause, during which, I found myself hyperventilating, terrorized as I realized the horrible truth.

The Psycho continued. "Ashley, you can take that gun in front of you and shoot Chris...or you can shoot yourself. Whoever is left can live...the choice is yours."

Chris froze, as did I. It was, again, a choice of killing someone. Chris bit his lip. I shook my head, picking up the gun and looking at it in fear. I couldn't believe that I was considering this.

'What is there to think about? It'll be messy, it'll hurt like fuck, but then it'll be over...' I told myself firmly. 'At least this way, Chris will live...I, I can't let him...'

I took a deep breath and lifted the gun, aiming it against my own head.

"Wait, stop!" Chris cried out "You can't do this, Ash. It should be me."

I gasped, staring at him, incredulous.

I tried to speak but he shook his head. "Please Ash, you don't, you don't have to do this. Just...just please..."

I found myself crying again. Chris had to understand that I needed to do this to save his life and so that he could escape. He had a better chance than me and if I killed him, I could never live with myself.

"Oh, fuck!" he cried out.

The saws were getting closer. We were running out of time. I trembled and lifted the gun to my head again.

"ASH!"

Trying to blink away the tears, I replied, "I'm sorry, Chris."

With that, I pulled the trigger.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	25. Sam IV

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 24 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
Boris Yeltsin: Indeed, thanks.  
thedarkpokemaster: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 24**

SAM POV

I looked around in terror, unsure of what to do or how to get out. I tugged at my bonds but they wouldn't move. The gag stopped me making any intelligible sound, not that there was anyone around to hear it, as far as I knew.

'Oh God, I've got to...urgh, can't get out...Chris, Ash...' my thoughts raced, jumbled in a panic.

I had seen him, taking them away, and now I had no idea where they were. Were they even still alive? Was I next? Not helping matters and increasing my fear and adding to my feelings of violation was the video camera focused on the chair, clearly set to record my terrifying and humiliating captivity.

I shuddered at the mere thought of it. 'If only I had something other than this damn towel, this is...'

"Sam." I heard someone whisper-shouting. "Sam, over here."

I looked around wildly, and then saw the grate in the wall close to the floor. There was someone there, someone very familiar.

Despite being gagged, I gasped, "Mngm!"

Mike nodded and began gesturing to me. "Get over here."

I nodded and, with as much effort as I could, due to my bound legs, began pushing myself along the floor. It was a relief that the chair was on wheels, which made it so much easier. Before long, I was able to position the chair right next to the grate, my back to it, which served perfectly. I could feel something cold and sharp close to my skin on my arms and I felt relief flooding me. Mike had something which could cut my bonds.

Before long, my hands were free and, with great relief, I took the weapon from Mike, a machete, and soon got to work cutting away the bonds around my legs. Finally, they were gone and I yanked the gag out of my mouth, throwing it aside as I pushed the chair away, kneeling down next to the grate. I handed Mike the machete back and then clutched the towel tightly, afraid of it coming loose.

"Oh Mike, thank God you found me." I said, expressing my relief and gratitude. I meant it, too. I had never been more relieved to see Mike. Or anybody, for that matter. I was shocked to see the state he was in, however. He was filthy, bruised, and looked like he had gone through some terrible things.

Still, he managed a small smile, as if feeling my gratitude to him. "It's okay. You're okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, are you…?"

He nodded at that, the smile widening, grateful that I showed such concern for him. "As well as can be expected. We've got problems."

I nodded slowly. That was an understatement, but Mike clearly wasn't joking around in any way, nor did he seem uninformed. Things might be worse than I thought.

"As if we don't have enough already." I replied worriedly before realizing, "Wait, where's Jess and Grant? Josh said that you went to find them..."

Mike shook his head sadly. "I couldn't find Grant at all...Jess is...She's gone."

I froze at that, horrified. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, it was beyond horrible. Yet Mike's next words took me by surprise.

"Listen, we have to get you outta there. There's some maniac on this mountain trying to fucking kill us all." He paused briefly and then said, "I'm not gonna let him get any more of us, I'm not gonna let him get you, Sam."

I couldn't blame him for his statement. Right now, I was in a very vulnerable position.

I then confessed, "Listen, this guy you're talking about? He attacked me. He's the one who tied me up...He's got Chris and Ash, too. They tried to save me but he caught them. Not only that, he, he showed me these videos. One of them showed Josh being torn apart, just...ripped in half by this huge fucking saw blade."

Mike gasped at this and shook his head. "Jesus fuck, what the fuck's going on around here?"

Finally, he composed himself. "We need to try and save Chris and Ashley. I can't get outta here, though. There's a door here but it won't open, think that you can find a way from your side?"

I nodded. "Leave it to me."

I then straightened up, wincing at the sight of the blood around my right knee, but there was nothing that I could do about it just now. Instead, I approached the only other door in the room, save the one Chris and Ashley came through earlier. I was startled to see my backpack slung across the handles with a flashlight set on top of it.

I quickly retrieved them, feeling more relief. I could finally lose the towel, since I had a change of clothes in my backpack. Turning on the flashlight and stepping out into a dank hallway, I knew that my first task was to get to Mike. I went down a small flight of steps to reach two doors. One had a wooden beam across it, jamming it. But if my memory of the layout was correct, this was the door to where Mike was. I set the flashlight down and quickly lifted the beam away before opening the door. Mike stood there, looking more relieved than ever when I stepped into the room.

"Hey..." he sighed, relieved.

"Jeez." I gasped, finally getting a good look at him. "You look like hell."

Mike laughed a little. "Nice to see you too."

I just rolled my eyes. He clearly had been through a lot, but hadn't let it get to him too deeply, thankfully. I saw the perfect place and moved over to the other end of the room, moving behind some shelves, which offered sadly only minimal cover.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Mike asked.

I replied sarcastically as I was able to finally clean the cut on my leg, as well as most of the blood. It had scabbed over, so it hopefully wouldn't cause any more issues, unless it reopened.

"Well actually, the towel didn't turn out to be the best outfit for fighting off killer maniacs, you know?" I paused and then gestured for him to turn around. "Do you mind? Mike?"

Realizing quickly, Mike did just that. "Oh. Right. My bad."

He quickly turned around and I dropped the towel at last and began pulling my spare clothes out of my bag before pulling them on.

Before long, I had redressed in a simple white shirt, a red hooded jacket, gray yoga pants, and simple sneakers. A head torch was also part of the outfit, although I kept it slung around my neck for now.

"Okay, done. Let's put this thing to bed." I said at last.

Turning around, Mike joined me, nodding. "Amen to that."

We had yet to determine our next destination, however. We had no idea where Chris and Ashley had been taken. But we soon got our answer when we heard screaming and Ashley's voice.

"What?!"

"No, but that's...How?!" Chris' voice could be heard, too.

We each shared a worried look and ran to the door at the other end of the room, where the screams had come from, and soon forced the door open. What we saw, I can only say was horrible. So horrible that we froze at the sight before us. Chris and Ashley were strapped to chairs on either side of a table. Above them, having stopped mere inches from their heads, were circular saws, still spinning. Ashley had one hand free and was holding a gun. They both looked distraught and traumatized, both were bearing several injuries.

Then we all saw him, the Psycho stepped out of the shadows towards Chris and Ashley, who had been looking around in shock, mostly likely at still being alive despite the death trap.

The Psycho ominously approached and Ashley cried out, "No!" She shook her head, struggling desperately against her bonds. "No, no, no! Get away!"

I cringed and started to move forwards. Mike stopped me, however, for at that moment, Ashley just reacted and suddenly shot at the Psycho three times. We all stopped and stared in disbelief, as the Psycho was unharmed.

"Oh Ashley..." he muttered in his distorted voice. "Oh, Ash, Ash, Ash, Ash."

Chris shook his head in utter shock, looking at the gun, then the Psycho. "What the fuck!?"

Ashley was frozen in total disbelief.

"Oh you've heard of blanks before. I mean, really?" the Psycho replied, revealing the truth.

That gun had been loaded with blanks. He must have been playing some sick game with them. It was then that the Psycho removed his terror clown mask, revealing his identity to us. I couldn't believe it. Anger and shock overwhelmed me. I felt more betrayed than I had ever been in my whole life, for it was none other than a very alive Joshua Washington.

Chris was the first to recover. "...Josh?" he spluttered, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

Josh burst out laughing as I yelled his name, anger seething through me hotter than ever. I also heard Mike voice Josh's name, sounding just as shocked as Chris.

"Oh, oh very good." he said, sounding overly cheerful. "Every one of you! Got my name! And after all you've been through! Good, good-good-good. I mean how does that feel?"

During this time, Mike and I had quickly untied Chris and Ashley and we all now stood, staring in shock and anger at our friend as he explained.

"Right? How does it feel? Do you enjoy feeling terrorized? Humiliated? I mean, panicked?" he queried, actually sounding a little crazed. "All those emotions that my sisters got to feel once one year ago? Only, guess what? They didn't get to laugh it off! No! Nope! No, no, no! They're gone!"

By the end, he was laughing again, actually sounding completely unhinged. It was a veritable maelstrom of emotions that I felt coursing through me. I felt as if I had been violated all over again, everything I endured at the hands of the Psycho, seeing me in the bath, chasing me as I had only a towel on, all of it was Josh. The others looked just as shocked and angry as me.

Mike finally replied angrily, "I don't know if you noticed this, Josh, but none of us are laughing."

Josh raised his arms and spoke. "Oh come, come-come-come-come. Why the long faces? Come on!"

He began to make expressive gestures while revealing his role in everything.

"It's good to get the heart racing every now and then, right? And race they did, I mean, every one of you, just pitter-pat, pitter-pat! I hope you appreciated my little phantasmagorical spectacle!"

I shook my head, but Josh continued.

"I mean, no detail too small! No opportunity missed! It was such a delight to play the puppet master to all of your Pavlovian panic! And all that gore? I mean, gore, there was gore galore!" he continued to brag. "Fake bodies... I mean, God, that shit was expensive! And no retakes! Nope, nope, nope, only double takes! You should have seen your faces. Hook, line, and sinker, for every little stinker!"

He was clearly enjoying himself, feeling as if he had triumphed.

I shook my head in dismay, the only words that I was able to get out were, "Josh, why are you doing this?"

"Don't even ask this lunatic, he's out his fucking tree." Mike replied dismissively.

Chris shook his head sadly. "Well, he's definitely off his meds."

"Oh come on guys, you're all gonna thank me in the end, and besides, none of you really got hurt."

I saw the fury flare in Mike's eyes and knew right away what he was thinking. I confess, the thought did cross my mind, too.

"What are you talking about, you ass hat? Jessica is FUCKING DEAD."

"What?" Josh gasped, suddenly deflating.

We all watched Mike carefully as he moved towards Josh, reaching into his waistband to pull out a revolver.

"Did you hear me!? Jessica is dead..." Mike growled. "And YOU ARE GONNA FUCKING PAY, YOU DICK!"

As he uttered the last word, Mike slammed the butt of the revolver into Josh's head, knocking him out cold.

I bit my lip, but said nothing. We didn't have much time, I just wanted this nightmare to be over. But as we secured Josh and dragged him back upstairs, Chris and Mike ready to take him somewhere secure, I thought that it was indeed over...I couldn't have been more wrong.

It was time for the real nightmare to begin.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	26. Mike V

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 25 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Boris Yeltsin: Yes indeed :)  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
thedarkpokemaster: Yup, and now things are going to get crazier.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 25**

MIKE POV

I sighed as I prepared to move Josh to a secure location. We had discussed things beforehand and, while Sam and Ashley waited in the lodge, Chris and I would take Josh to a shed that was nearby and secure him there. Then we would wait until morning and turn him over to the police.

'I can't believe this actually happened, this is seriously fucked up...Still, at least it's over now.' I thought, bitterly.

Just then, I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned. I was startled to see Sam standing there, biting her lip.

"Sam?"

"I um, I just..." she stammered, surprisingly seeming unsure of herself.

It wasn't something that I had expected to see. The whole time that I had known her, Sam was the most confident person that I had ever met.

Still, she smiled and seemed to recover. "I just wanted to say...be careful. Now we know what Josh is capable of, and for God's sake, stay warm, alright?"

I actually felt myself smile in response. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

We were hardly going to leave Josh by himself. I had decided, while the others rested and recovered from this sick game, that I would stay and watch Josh through the night, until it was time. Which meant, of course, I'd be stuck with him, alone in the cold, even inside the shed.

I couldn't deny that I was actually touched by Sam openly displaying such care. While we were friends, I admit that we never really were that close, at least before this trip and all the crazy shit that happened. Especially Jess' death; I had never gotten the chance to try and fix things and I still felt guilty about that.

Now I wondered if Josh had sent me after Jess and Grant, just so I could see them falling victim to his scheme. For I was sure that he was behind what happened to her, him or his sidekick; that man I had seen. That wasn't the only thing infuriating me about Josh. I also recalled how I found Sam, the fact she had been stuck in only a towel, the absolute terror on her face. The fact that he could do that to her, when she had been his biggest support after what happened to Hannah and Beth, was beyond forgiveness.

Nodding once more, I reassured Sam before turning and joining Chris again as we forced Josh outside, and began heading up the path to the shed.

We began to walk, roughly escorting Josh to the shed. Ever since Josh had woken up midway through our attempt to leave the hotel, he just made things harder.

"Guys!" he yelled as I shoved himself forwards, "Guys, come on...seriously, this is crazy, you know?"

"Shut up." I replied, fed up with his nonsense already.

I then saw glowering as he stalked past me, right up to Josh.

"Why did ya hit her, man!?" he burst out, unable to contain his rage anymore. "Why'd you have to fucking hit her!?"

With that, he lost it and slugged Josh straight in the face. Josh crumpled to the ground and for once, I had to hold Chris back from inflicting further violence.

"What are you talking about?" Josh groaned as he managed to get into a sitting position, despite his bound hands.

Chris snarled. "You punched Ashley, you piece of shit!"

Josh looked down at his shoulder, where I saw that someone, presumably Ashley, had stabbed him."I got so mad..."

"You don't hit a girl, you just...don't." Chris snapped.

Josh looked up at him, clearly shocked by Chris' rage. He shook his head. "Dude...dude, Chris, bro...I-"

Chris cut him off sharply as I stepped forwards. "I'm not your bro!"

I was done wasting time and forced Josh to his feet and forced him along the path again.

"Where are we going, where are you guys taking me?" Josh demanded, sounding startled.

I glared at him and spoke darkly. "Locking you up, bro."

"What?!"

"So you can't say or do anything stupid before we call the police in the morning." I explained.

"Come ON!" Josh complained bitterly. "I didn't DO ANYTHING-"

Chris shook his head, clearly getting tired of this, just as I was. "Are you serious, bro?"

I for one didn't want to hear it. "You're a goddamned murderer is what you are."

"I didn't do it." Josh snapped before pleading. "Michael please, just listen to me, man! I did not hurt Jessica-"

Chris replied sharply, "Are you insane, like really? Do you not understand what you've done?"

"I'm a healer, man. I bring people together, not like you assholes." Josh growled in response.

Rolling my eyes, I forced Josh onwards. "That's enough."

We were now close to the shed, the same shed Josh had set up his first saw trap trick from what Chris told me. Josh continued to struggle and yell at us, while also protesting.

"You only see what you wanna see!" he burst out suddenly. "You're blind!"

"Stop talking." I replied blandly, seriously getting tired.

"You are – argh!" Josh's words were cut short when I forced him to the ground, apparently hurting his injured shoulder.

"It's not my fault you suckers can't take a joke!" Josh exclaimed.

I glared at him. "Oh, oh wait, did I hurt you? Did you just feel a little... a little bit of pain? Right now I am SO... SO... SORRY."

As I raised my voice, I put more pressure on Josh's shoulder, making him scream.

"Stop it!"

"Jesus, dude." Chris gasped.

I admit, it was a pretty dick move, but I was so pissed off with Josh right now, that I was past caring.

"Stop...Michael, I'm sorry, man...I can't tell you how sorry I am that something happened to Jessica!" Josh yelled through the pain. "But I swear, I swear to you that I have no idea what happened to her."

Chris spoke up again, sounding somewhere between anger and pity. "Josh, be honest with me, do you really expect us to trust you for a single goddamned second after all the shit you put us through?"

There was a pause, during which, I saw Josh grimace as I forced him back to his feet.

Josh grinned, slipping into crazy mode again. I had noticed that, at times he seemed lucid and himself, at others, crazed.

"Can't we all just get along?" he joked before I shoved him hard. "OW! DAMMIT!"

I made him walk, holding him at gunpoint. "We're not dicking around."

With that, I forced Josh into the shed. All the while, he was ranting.

"It's not right... nope... this is not how it's supposed to go down... You're just a bunch of bullies... You can't hang a guy out to just dry like this, guys- Not like... Not like you got the guts to really do anything about it, anyways!"

"You really, really, really need to shut up, man." Chris shot back.

Josh glared as I forced him deeper into the shed. "Oh... that's... that's... I mean, I don't even know what you mean because I don't have anything to regret."

Chris rolled his eyes while I forced Josh onto a stool near a pole and we began trying to untie his hands then retie them to the pole.

"Okay, tying me up now, okay." Josh remarked sarcastically.

"Stay still, man-" I growled.

"Right, right, right, right...still..." Josh replied before slipping into a mocking tone while wriggling." Can't tie 'em up if they just wiggle around."

Chris let out an exasperated sigh. "Josh, dude-"

"Leave me a little wiggle room, huh?"

I glowered and pulled hard on the ties. As I did so, I snarled directly in Josh's face. "What does it take to shut you up?"

"Ow!" Josh glared at me as we both stood and stepped back. "Not so tight, okay? Not so tight, okay! I can't wiggle around. Plastic ties. That's where it's at. Yeah."

"What...in God's name is he talking about?" I wondered aloud.

It became clear that Josh had slipped even further and was now talking to himself.

"Plastic ties, plastic ties. Way more effective for hostage type scenarios."

"This is hard to watch..." Chris admitted.

I nodded. "He ever say this kind of shit before?"

Josh, meanwhile, was still rambling. "Guaranteed for at least three hostages, or your money back!"

Chris sighed and again admitted, "No, I've never seen him like this..."

"Everybody is stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid..." Josh mumbled, before becoming coherent again and grinning wickedly. "Chris and Ash, Chris is an ass, Ashley's a dumb dumb..."

Hearing that, Chris rounded on him. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Josh giggled and replied, "I said you're a dummy, dummy."

Exasperated again, Chris shook his head. "What's wrong with you?"

Josh then began mocking Chris. "Ohh...Ashley...I never imagined in my wildest dreams that you'd like me…!"

Chris shook his head. "Stop..."

I couldn't believe it. After all of this, Josh thought it was a good idea to antagonize us?

"You know what that sound is?" Josh asked in a high-pitched tone, before becoming aggressive. "It's the sound of never kissing Ashley, you pussy."

"Stop!" Chris demanded. This was going too far.

But Josh simply kept on pushing buttons. He looked from Chris to me, leeringly, his thoughts obvious as he spoke.

"Yeah, you know? You might as well let Ashley sleep with Mike. I mean, at least he's got some notches on his belt, you know?" He emphasized the next four words with vulgar pelvic thrusts. "He'll treat her right! You're fucking pathetic, Christopher!"

That, it seemed, was the breaking point for Chris. He grabbed a nearby wooden board, raising it.

"I'm gonna beat his head off-" he growled.

I held him back, however. "Don't listen to him, he's not worth it."

I couldn't deny that his comments stung, but I wasn't about to just let Josh get the reaction he wanted. That was, until he tried to antagonize me instead.

"Hey, Mike." he began sniggering as he repeated my name several times.

"What?" I replied at last, ensuring my anger was clear.

Josh looked somewhere between crazed and serious. "What happened with Jess, Mike?"

I narrowed my eyes at that. "You know what happened."

No... No... I don't... I got a problem, Mike..." Josh replied. "I don't remember killing Jess..."

I rolled my eyes, muttering as I turned away,

"I mean, like, I feel like I would remember killing her, you know?" he explained before leering again and adopting a suggestive tone. "She's so soft... and she's probably got like a really tight bod…"

"Shut your fucking mouth!" I snapped, aiming at Josh with the gun.

I couldn't believe he was doing this, that he would speak about her like that, after everything. I didn't fire the gun, however. I wasn't about to just shoot a man in cold blood, no matter what he had done.

"Ugh..." Josh groaned before yelling. "You guys are the worst!"

"What?"

He shook his head. "Oh, come ON! You expect me to believe you're gonna shoot me? Just little old me? Just little old me tied up here, and helpless?"

I sighed and shook my head, turning back to Chris. "Why don't you go back to the lodge and make sure everyone's alright. I'll stay here with this lunatic until morning."

Josh grinned and replied jokingly, sounding childish. "Oooh! Sleepover! C-can we order pizza?"

"You sure you're okay?" Chris asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, just...They'll want to know that everything's fine back here."

"You're right." Chris replied. "See you in the morning."

So with that, I made myself comfortable, sitting down nearby. Chris dropped the wooden board and left, heading back to the lodge to tell Ashley and Sam that Josh was now secured. Josh grinned again, but I shot him a warning glare. If he kept up with this nonsense, one of us was going to end this night out cold and it sure as hell wasn't going to be me.

* * *

I wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed, but thankfully, Josh had heeded my warning. However, the stillness was interrupted by an ungodly shriek. A shrill, echoing scream that sounded really close by. I stood up.

"Oh, crap." I muttered, exasperated. "What now?"

I thought that things were over, but it looked like that wasn't the case. I immediately took off back to the lodge, determined to get to the bottom of this.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	27. Chris V

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 26 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
thedarkpokemaster: Thanks.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 26**

CHRIS POV

I bit my lip worriedly as I stood. Sam and Ashley were also worried as we all heard the screams and had no idea what had caused them. At that moment, Mike came rushing in.

"You guys okay?" he asked in a rush.

We all nodded, but before we could say anything, a loud bang was heard, it was the sound of someone knocking on the door, heavily.

"Whoa?"

"Who the fuck can that be?" Mike muttered.

"Josh?" Ashley suggested.

I looked over at Mike uneasily. "Jess?"

He shook his head. "It's not Jess."

"Sorry, man..." I replied, but then queried, "But who is it?"

"I don't know...We should check it out." Mike answered.

I agreed and the two of us made our way to the door and Mike pointed his gun at the door, cautiously.

I took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm gonna open the door, you ready?" I bit my lip and repeated, "You ready?"

Mike rolled his eyes. "Uh huh, just do it already. Whoever it is has probably gone by now."

I still stalled. I admit, I was getting a little too jittery. "Unless you want me to take the gun."

"No, no, no. I think that's less good. You do the door, I got the gun." Mike replied.

I nodded and approached the door. I had barely turned the handle when it was suddenly kicked open. Mike and I both cried out and tried to urge the sudden visitor to stop. It was an elderly man, grizzled with many scars, gray eyes and hair, and carrying a flamethrower.

"Freeze...Ahh!" Mike cried out as the Stranger effortlessly disarmed him. "What the, alright. Alright, just it easy, grandpa..."

"Okay." the Stranger spat in a thick accent. "Everybody just calm down. Now just move over there, go on, move! Let me say what I came to say."

By this point, we had backed up and now we were all back in the great room, with the girls all staring in shock at the sudden new arrival.

Glaring at all of us, the man shook his head. "I'm here to tell you what you're up against being back on this mountain. You should never have returned." he told us darkly, dropping his bag near the fireplace. "I don't know why you did after what happened last year."

We all shared a look and Ashley nervously asked, "You mean with Hannah and Beth?"

"Yeah, how could you know that without being involved…?" I queried.

Sam jumped in then, glaring. "Or responsible!?"

"You hold on to your horses." the Stranger spat. "I don't take kindly to you kids coming up here to my mountain-"

Mike scoffed at that. "Your mountain? I'm sure the Washingtons would be very surprised to hear that."

The Stranger laughed at Mike's comment. "Well, this mountain don't belong to me, it's true." he admitted, but then added in a growl, "But it don't belong to the Washingtons. This mountain belongs to the Wendigo."

There was a stunned silence after that. We all shared a look, all voicing our confusion, pretty much asking what a Wendigo was. In the end, we had no choice. We decided to hear the old man out.

The Stranger glared at us all again, giving us enough time to notice that the flamethrower wasn't his only weapon, he was carrying a machete and a shotgun, too.

"Now I'm only going to tell you this once. It doesn't matter to me if you believe it or not. I got reasons I want to..." he explained, before sighing and adding, "Get it off my chest..."

Mike jumped on that, however. "See? I told you! He's guilty as shit! Guilty of something!"

Sam quickly cut in, "Shh. Shut up, Mike!"

The Stranger had a faraway look in his eye, as he began to tell his story. "There is a curse that dwells in these mountains. Should any man or woman resort to cannibalism in these woods, the spirit of the Wendigo shall be unleashed."

Looking at us all carefully, the Stranger warned us, "You're going to need to find somewhere safe."

"The basement might be okay." Sam suggested.

The Stranger instructed us to go down and wait there. But none of us knew for how long.

It was while we were discussing this that Mike suddenly blurted out, "Guys...I ran off and left Josh when I heard screaming."

The Stranger turned to him at once. "Where did you leave him?"

Mike shuffled his feet and admitted, "In the shed."

The Stranger gave a short snort. "Your friend will already be dead."

"No, no he can't be." I burst out. "We were just with him!"

"A lot can happen quickly on this mountain."

I wouldn't accept that, however. I couldn't, there was no way. "No, I'm gonna go get him."

The others protested, Ashley most vehemently.

"I'm supposed to be his best friend and I let him down." I replied.

Ashley shook her head. "No, he let YOU down, Chris. He let all of us down."

I didn't care, I still intended to go and, despite my initial unwillingness, I agreed to accompany the Stranger with everybody else being sent to the basement. We began to make our way to the back door, while everybody else headed down to the basement. After giving me his shotgun and a few warnings, the Stranger stepped out into the snow. I was about to follow when I heard Ashley's voice.

"Hey..." I turned and she smiled softly. "Come back safe."

With that, she suddenly kissed me and, before I could say anything, she nodded and I followed the stranger while Ashley closed the door. I was still slightly dazed by what had just happened, but forced myself to focus, I needed to keep going and pay attention.

On the walk to the shed, I insisted that the old guy tell me what he knew. He grudgingly began to fill me in on Wendigos and their weaknesses. It was a shock to realize that the shotgun wouldn't kill them, only slow them down. Apparently, fire was their only weakness. They also had some patterns that they adhered to, like only hunting at night. Much of what I heard made me even more uneasy and not too happy about my chances.

"Any, uh, pro Wendigo tips?" I asked nervously. "Like, if I rub garlic all over me, they won't be able to smell me or something?"

"No, they'll still smell you." the Stranger replied disdainfully.

"Anything like that?"

The stranger grunted but conceded that apparently, their vision was based on movement and, although he didn't recommend testing it out, standing perfectly still might make a person invisible to them.

It was then that we arrived at the shed, only to find the stool that Josh had been tied to was empty and broken. I rushed to it and realized that we were too late. I was so desperate to find Josh that I was willing to disregard further warnings, but the Stranger insisted that we leave, revealing to me how the Wendigo was fond of rendering its victim immobile and then stripping the skin from their body piece by piece and keeping them alive and aware while it feasted on their organs. That was enough for me, I was freaked out enough to finally agree to give up and we began to leave.

We had barely gone ten paces from the shed when the Stranger yelled, "Wait, don't move."

I froze, a second too late, as my foot came down on a twig that snapped.

The Stranger reacted at once. "RUN, GO, NOW, NOW!"

I darted forwards, just as a monstrous creature leapt in front of me. I leapt back in shock, crying out, "HOLY SHIT, WHAT THE FUCK!?"

The Stranger blasted the Wendigo with his flamethrower, yelling out, "BACK, BACK!"

After warning me to get out of there, to get back to the lodge, the Stranger stepped back, raising his flamethrower again when he suddenly let out a choked gurgle. I watched in horror as his body hit the ground, his head hitting it separately a second or so later.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god." I gasped, shock almost setting in.

It was then, however, that I was forced to act, for the Wendigo then turned and lunged right at me. I did the only thing that I could. I raised the shotgun and fired, point-blank, right in its deformed face. It felt back with a shriek and I immediately took off running, desperate to reach the lodge before it was too late. I hadn't gone far when the Wendigo returned, or maybe it was another one. I wasn't sure, but it leapt out in front of me. I fired and hit it. As it fell back, I ran until I reached a ledge and leapt off. I landed and cried out as pain flared up in my ankle. Looking up, I saw the Wendigo coming back for more. I shot again and ran as fast as I could, limping on my injured leg.

'Sprained ankle, it's gotta be a sprained ankle.' my thoughts raced, but then I saw ahead. 'Oh, shit!'

The Wendigo was back for more again. I fired and struck it again. I was now within reach of the lodge.

I ran up to it, yelling, "Oh, thank God. Please, let me in, quick!"

Ashley opened the door at that moment. I burst in and slammed the door shut behind me, locking it, for all the good I felt it would do. Ashley turned to me, eyes wide, noting the state I was in.

"Chris, oh my god, what happened?"

I shook my head. "We gotta go, that thing was, like, right behind me-"

We heard it shriek as it leapt at the door and slammed into it. Ashley let out a short scream and I urged her to go. We hurried as quickly as we could down to the basement. Mike was halfway up the basement stairs, apparently on his way up to get Ashley. He quickly turned and headed back down with us.

Only once I was down in the basement, with the adrenaline wearing off, did I realize just what I had witnessed and shock set in.

'I saw a man die. He died right in front of me….'

"Oh my god, guys! Thank God!" Sam gasped, relieved. "What took you so long?"

Still reeling from the Stranger's death, I shook my head. I was shocked at how dazed I sounded. "It's not so good up there right now-"

"Understatement of the night." Mike muttered with a sigh.

Sam looked around worriedly. "Chris, where's the flamethrower guy?"

"Ah yeah, he uh..." was all I managed to get out.

I didn't need to finish, however, as they all realized the truth: the man was dead. We were all shocked and instantly scared. It was clear that the man was an expert on these Wendigos and there was no doubt that with him on our side, we'd have a chance of survival. Now he was dead, which completely shattered those hopes.

"What happened?" Sam gasped.

I shuddered, hating the sharp horrible memories. "The thing, it... it tore him apart! Right in front of me!"

"Oh God..."

There was a stony silence as we all took this in, realizing what we felt was our best chance had been torn away.

Finally, Mike seemed to come to a decision as he paced around the room, looking around wildly.

"Alright." he said, sounding frantic. "Are these all the doors?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What are you looking for?"

He sighed and admitted, "Another way out."

"Mike..." Sam shook her head. "I really don't think that's a good idea. We should stay put, right here, until dawn. At least we're safe down here."

Mike turned to her, incredulous. "Oh yeah? All wrapped like a little present with a bow on top for that thing to tear us apart on Christmas morning?"

Sam tried to reassure him. "People will come for us in the morning."

"You don't sound so sure."

She insisted. "That's what'll happen...right?"

Truthfully, none of us knew for sure. For all we knew, there might be no help coming. I was only dimly aware of all this, since I was still locked in the horror of what I had witnessed.

Mike shook his head, stepped away. "Well, you can wait. I'm leaving."

"Mike, there's no key for the cable car." Sam queried, pointing to one of the monitors, which showed said key missing.

Mike bit his lip and thought for a moment. Finally, he turned back to us. "Josh. He's gotta have it."

"Josh?" Sam queried.

Mike nodded. "One of his dirty little tricks."

Sam groaned. "Great. Great!"

"If that fucking thing got a hold of Josh, then..." Mike sighed and shrugged. "Then we're shit outta luck."

Things were quiet after that. I was dimly aware of someone next to me. I turned my head and saw Ashley, gently touching my shoulder. I gave her a shaky smile and nodded, trying to reassure her, and possibly myself.

"Fuck it." Mike said at last. "I'm gonna get that key. Right from thing's goddamned bedroom, and then I'm gonna get us all the hell out of here."

Before he could leave, however, he saw Sam observing something at the work bench, a map of sorts, and a journal. Several other documents, all from the Stranger's bag.

"This guy was prepared for anything." Sam noted.

"Not quite." Mike muttered, shaking his head.

Ashley had joined them by now, but didn't speak. I remained where I was, sitting against another bench, staring blankly at the floor. I still couldn't get those images out of my head.

Sam must have then spotted something, for she then spoke up.

"Wait, wait, wait, what is that?" she asked, disturbed.

Mike shook his head. "I was down there, it was horrible."

"You were?"

He began to relate the history of what he had seen; the survivors of the mine collapse, what the reporter found out, the cover up and the fact that the owners knew that the mines were a death trap, also the discovery of the restraining chair. The others gazed at him in utter shock. I, however, was just too numb to respond.

"I'm just saying," he told them, "It's weird how much crazy shit's gone on up here."

He then looked at the map and pointed to something on it. "That's how I got back here." Mike explained. "Alright, alright...You guys know what to do. I'll be back. Until then, nobody leave."

With that, he turned and left quickly. Sam leaned against the work bench and sighed. I couldn't help but notice a sad expression on her face as she watched the door that Mike had left through.

Ashley, meanwhile, picked up one of the journals and began to read it. Out of nowhere, she suddenly gasped, "Oh...Oh no, no, no, no, no..."

"What?" Sam insisted, hurrying over. "What is it, what does it say?"

Ashley didn't reply, she simply handed the book to Sam, who read it. I saw her eyes widen.

"Oh shit, shit..." she gasped. "We gotta find Mike."

She sounded so panicked, that neither of us questioned her, we simply grabbed what we needed and followed her out of the basement. Spurred back into action, I was able to at least push the horrible thoughts out of my mind, at least for now.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	28. Sam V

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 27 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
thedarkpokemaster: Thanks, yeah, well, we can only wait and see, some deaths have in fact already happened.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 27**

SAM POV

I moved as quickly as I could, desperate to reach Mike before it was too late. My mind was still full of what I had just read. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that the others were lagging behind slightly.

"C'mon guys, hurry up!" I desperately called out to them. "We've gotta get a move on."

I didn't know exactly what was pushing me so quickly, I only knew that if we didn't catch up to Mike, he'd be walking into a death trap.

'I can't let that happen...not to him. We've already lost friends here, I won't lose him, too!' I thought, my mind racing. 'God, if we'd known what was waiting at the sanatorium...'

I bit my lip, remembering how it happened, just before Mike left. I don't know what had come over me, I just walked up to him and pleaded with him to be careful. I had seen the look in his eyes and it actually confused me, more so than my sudden actions. He told me he would be careful and that he trusted me to take care of things while he was gone.

I couldn't deny it, Mike had changed a lot since we arrived at the mountain. Before coming back this year, if he had been anything like how he was now, maybe this mess wouldn't have been so catastrophic for us all. Maybe that incident with Jess wouldn't have happened.

I was broken out of my thoughts by Chris suddenly speaking up as he stopped, leaning against the wall.

"Hey, I'm kinda gimping out here, guys." he said, grimacing. "I think...maybe you should go on without me."

I bit my lip, not even wanting to consider that, but at this rate...

It was Ashley, however, who made the decision on what to do. She spoke firmly, brokering no argument. "No Chris, we're not leaving you. We're sticking together. Mike will just have to wait."

I sighed, but nodded and, to my surprise, Chris smiled at that and pushed himself up off the wall. With Ashley supporting Chris so that he could keep pace, we continued onward.

I lead the way, picking my way carefully through the tunnels beneath the lodge we had ended up in, on the underground path leading to the Sanatorium. We soon reached a large set of double doors, our only path forwards. I immediately began trying to open them, only for them to not budge.

I couldn't believe it. "Urgh, c'mon. Mike must have locked this behind him. Crap!"

I stepped back, worried. Mike was in serious danger and now we couldn't get after him to warn him.

'Dammit, Mike. Why?' I thought angrily.

I was almost overcome by an overwhelming sensation of worry, fear, and something else that I couldn't quite place. I was shocked by the potency of my feelings, especially my panic at Mike being in danger. Despite my shock and confusion at those feelings, I pushed them aside, this wasn't the time for that, I had to focus. I had to try and think of another way.

"Hey, what about this?" Ashley suddenly asked.

I turned and saw her kneeling by what looked like a manhole cover in the ground. My heart leapt, hope springing anew, as Ashley levered it open and we made our way down, hurrying to make up for lost time. Our journey passed without further incident until we reached a huge rock face and I couldn't see a way around it. But if our estimations were correct, once at the top, with a bit of searching, we could find the tunnel that lead directly to the Sanatorium again. We all stopped, looking up at that wall.

Then Ashley saw something and pointed, crying out, "Look, look there!"

Chris and I both followed her direction and saw it; a broken ladder, way too high to reach.

I groaned, "Wow, great."

Ashley bit her lip. "The ladder's toast, we're never going to make it up there!"

I shook my head, examining the wall carefully. "No, no, no, I think I can...I think I can do it, it's like...a rock wall."

I smiled and turned to Ashley and Chris. "I'm gonna keep going, you should head back to the lodge. I've gotta get Mike."

"Good luck." Ashley replied. She knew that I was the strongest climber in the group and had the best chance of making it to Mike.

With that, she and Chris turned back and began heading back the way we came. I turned to the wall, preparing to climb it.

Looking at the wall before me, I carefully chose my starting point and began to climb up the wall. I paused, and then, preparing myself, I set my feet on some rocks and pushed upwards, leaping to a higher ledge. I grabbed a wooden board, but it broke. I was so startled, that I let out a short cry, but quickly recovered and held on.

"Urgh, come on." I muttered.

I forced myself upwards again, bracing my feet and making another leap, grabbing a broken structure before making it to another higher ledge.

"Come on, come on." I muttered, encouraging myself. "You can do it."

I climbed up the rocks until finally, I reached the top of the wall. I grinned as I pulled myself to my feet.

"Hah, I beat you." I said breathlessly. "I fuckin' beat you."

Composing myself, I began to look around, using the light from my head-torch to guide me, keeping my hands free. I soon reached a gap in the path and opted to take the stairs to the right. I had only just gotten off the stairs when suddenly, there was a loud rumbling and then a smashing noise.

"Ahh!" I cried out, then saw the stairs that I had just used get destroyed. "Jesus!"

Shaking my head, I continued onward, desperate to find Mike, already afraid it was too late. However, I stopped when I heard a loud, strange noise.

"What was that?" I mumbled warily.

My search to the top of the stairs didn't glean anything but a strange symbol on the wall and a skull. Shaking my head, a little creeped out, I turned to follow a different route along some raised walkways. Suddenly, the cavern started to shake and I had to grab the railing to steady myself.

"Oh, fuck!" I cried out. "Fuck!"

Rocks fell, both behind and in front of me, forcing me to jump the gap before hurrying off the walkway.

'This is getting really fucked up. Not good, not good at all…' I noted with concern.

Just then, I heard that noise again and shook my head. Spotting a metal pipe next to me, I grabbed it for protection and continued onwards, hopeful that I'd find Mike before it was indeed too late.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	29. Mike VI

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 28 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Here we go :)  
thedarkpokemaster: It's cool, yeah, things are building now :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 28**

MIKE POV

I approached the doors to the Sanatorium towards the end of the tunnel. I never imagined that I'd end up back there again. I reached the door and opened it.

"Oof, ok, ok, ok, what's the-" I muttered, having forgotten how stiff it was.

Finally in, I closed and locked the door behind me. I didn't want the others to be put at risk. I began retracing my steps, past the area that was still scorched from the explosion, some debris still smouldered. I made my way up the large stairs and retraced my steps back to the chapel. When I finally reached the chapel, I stopped and looked around in surprise, the place was in even worse shape than before.

"Ho-lee...shit." I whispered.

I looked around, noticing something that troubled me right away. "Huh...What happened to the wolves?"

They were gone. I continued my search and found that most of the gated doors and regular doors were locked. On the far wall was a hole that led outside to reveal a makeshift graveyard and all graves bore the same date. Shaking my head at yet another part of the 1952 mystery, I continued my search of the chapel until I found a way to get behind one of the gated doors; from above.

Inside, I found it was a cramped storeroom, used by the old man, no doubt. On a nearby table were things that I knew right away would be useful. I had a flashlight, true, but I pocketed it. The torch I found would be more useful as both a light and a weapon against the Wendigos. I lit the torch and picked up a pack of shells for a shotgun. By pure coincidence, there was also a sawed-off shotgun on the bench, too.

"Now I just need a pitchfork and a mob." I joked to myself, but shrugged. "Good enough."

Gathering everything, I managed to exit the storeroom and made my way to the other locked door, near the hole in the wall. Reaching the door, I readied myself and shot the lock off before kicking the door open. I entered into the new corridor and heard a noise. I tensed but then relaxed and smiled.

"Hey, big guy!" I said cheerfully as a familiar wolf stepped into view. It was the wolf I had met earlier and befriended.

"Happy to see me again, huh?" I said as the wolf approached me, non-aggressively. "Heyyy, I was hopin' I'd run into you again."

I gently scratched the wolf behind the ears. I grinned as I did so, relieved to have some company.

"Alright, good boy...Alright pal, you're comin' with me." I said, standing up. "Alright, here's the plan: I happened to see a map of this place, so we're not flying blind. There should be a way into the psychiatric wing that'll take us right outside the mine. Think we can handle that?"

The wolf looked up at me and let out a small contented noise.

"Couldn't have said it better myself, atta boy."

So I found myself following the wolf as it actually began guiding me through the fenced outdoor path to another building of the sanatorium, clearly signposted as the Psychiatric Ward and Restraining Area, the very place I was looking for. As we entered, a loud noise startled me. At the same time, Wolfie barked, sounding angry.

"Jesus Chri-" I composed myself quickly. "Okie dokie boy, calm down."

Wolfie just ran on ahead, getting past the door blocking our path, squeezing through a gap that I couldn't.

I sighed. "Wish I could move like you, Wolfie. I think I'm stuck on this side."

Stuck, I tried a nearby lever, which partially opened the door. I was able to slide through, although I noticed that the door behind me was now closed. Continuing to make my way through the circular room, trying to find a way down to the center, I reached a staircase and made my way down.

Searching the area I found myself in turned up only one thing of interest: a death certificate. Shaking my head, I left that office and continued to follow the path. This part of the Sanatorium at least did not look as bad as the other, but still in pretty bad shape.

"AH!" I cried when I rounded the corner. "Oh, son of a bitch."

Wolfie barked quietly, shuffling back as we both beheld the strung up, partially devoured carcass of Wolfie's fellow four-legged canine.

"Huh... Jesus Christ, what the fuck have I gotten myself into...?" I muttered. "Fuck, man. This is truly disgusting."

Wolfie walked away, moving into the next area. I, however, noticed something to my left; an open cell door. I examined it, noting a few odd things.

"Huh...These doors were built like tanks. How crazy were these inmates?" I wondered aloud, before seeing the markings on the walls of that cell. They looked disturbing like claw marks.

"What went on here? This is nuts."

With a strong uneasy feeling, I returned to following Wolfie as we made our way through the Sanatorium. Our long search through various corridors and rooms in varying stages of dilapidation turned up more clues, all of them disturbing.

The first discovery was an old film reel which showed a miner transforming into a Wendigo. The transformation had been triggered deliberately, almost like an experiment, with the man restrained in the chair I had seen in the morgue. I also found a case study dossier which detailed the discoveries in further detail, all of it made it clear that the miners that survived the collapse did so by eating those that did not and became Wendigos, subsequently breaking free and causing the mass destruction of the sanatorium.

"Jesus hot sauce Christmas cake, this is fucking unbelievable." I muttered.

I continued to follow Wolfie's lead, stumbling across another clue, this one in the form of a corpse with a suicide note. The final piece of the puzzle, the dead guy was the owner of the sanatorium and the mine. It confirmed my suspicions about what had happened. Not wanting to see any more of this, I hurriedly made my way into the next room, relieved to find myself on the ground floor, at the center of the structure at last. Throughout my journey, I had felt the ominous presence of being watched and now I heard a loud screech. I froze, it had to be a Wendigo.

Entering the wide room properly, I reacted as a can fell off of a small container and I shot it. I quickly loaded the shotgun again, shaking my head as it turned out to just be a rat. But then the Wendigo jumped down from the ceiling, right in front of me.

"Ha!" I cried, firing at it, striking it in the face. "How does that feel, you fuck!?"

I quickly ran onward, following Wolfie, who led the way. The Wendigo recovered and began a close pursuit.

"Jesus, fuck, fuck!" I cried.

I reached a fork in the path and went left.

"Shit, shit, shit." I muttered as I quickly closed the door behind me.

"Okay...What the?" I gasped as my torch died. "Oh fuck, fuck, fuck...FUCK!"

I quickly barricaded the door with a nearby cabinet and hurried onward. However, my flight was interrupted by another Wendigo attack, but I fended off this one with the machete, lodging it in the creature's face. I ran onward, soon closing another door and stopping. I was able to catch my breath and nod to Wolfie. Relieved that the wolf was still with me, I managed a small smile.

"Good dog...shh, sh..." I said reassuringly. "It's okay, it's fine."

Wolfie suddenly darted away, seeking cover. Taking this as my cue, I did the same, just as a Wendigo jumped down and landed on a nearby table. It appeared that we were in a kitchen of sorts. Remembering what I had heard, I stopped moving and did my utmost to stay still. The Wendigo looked around warily, clearly searching for me. Suddenly, I heard the sound of a bottle rolling right above me. I quickly caught it as it fell, thankfully not giving myself away. Taking a chance while it was distracted, I ran into the next room, Wolfie by my side.

"Dammit...alright." I growled under my breath. "Come on, you son of a bitch, where are you?"

I was actually getting lower now, going underground. I could hear Wendigo screeches all around and it was freaking me out.

I was in what was clearly an isolation ward, with several cells. As I neared one of the cells, a Wendigo attempted to grab me but missed as I dodged, seeing it at the last second. Crying out, I leapt back and shot the Wendigo right in the face. I took off running, Wolfie still by my side.

"When is this shit gonna stop!?" I asked the wolf. "Jesus Chr- It's like a fucking bad dream."

I ducked as another Wendigo lashed out from its cell to attack me. "Whoa, fuck this!"

I continued to run. Dodging another attack, I gritted my teeth and slowed down. Keeping my gun at the ready, fully loading it, I looked around warily.

"One at a time, boys." I quipped, trying to cover my nervousness and my pounding heart. "There's enough of me for all of ya."

I fired at another Wendigo after dodging its attack and ran onward, ducking under another arm and then shooting another just as I realized this one was chained up and couldn't reach me.

"Oh Jesus... Oh Jesus... Fuck... fuck, fuck."

I hurried away, dodging another attack and then shooting another before rounding a corner. Ahead, I saw the end of the restraining area hallway and, looking over my shoulder, a free Wendigo in pursuit. Panicking, I tried to open the door, but it only partially opened and the Wendigo jumped across the walls towards me.

"Dammit, not good!"

I quickly shot at it and then tipped over a barrel next to me. Just then, two more Wendigos began to leap towards me. I quickly pushed the barrel and, when it was level with them, I fired, blowing up the barrel and incinerating the Wendigos. Although, it knocked me back and I grunted, muttering to myself as I recovered, running away.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!"

I recovered and managed to get through the door, closing it and locking it again. I stopped and caught my breath. I was back in the main Psychiatric Ward. My path wasn't through there, it seemed. Not with those monsters now on the loose. Luckily, I knew of an alternate way in. However, on the way, I found myself pursued by another Wendigo.

I ran ahead and, seeing the locked door ahead, blasted it, managing to break though before barricading it and hurrying onward, jumping down a hole. Looking up, I stopped, Wolfie was standing there, looking down at me. I was beyond relieved to see that the wolf had survived.

"Hey buddy, come on down, it's alright." I said, but Wolfie didn't move and I understood. "Okie dokie, bud. Catch ya on the flipside, huh?"

Wolfie leapt over the hole and padded away. Hoping he'd be alright, I hurried upstairs to the exit of the Sanatorium, but the door wouldn't open and a tell-tale shriek told me that another Wendigo was behind me. I spun around, cursing, and fired at a nearby barrel. The room exploded and I leapt from it, right outside.

The Sanatorium was now on fire and more and more shrieking could be heard. Recovering, I ran for the mines, desperate to get away from that nightmare and find what I was looking for. Unfortunately, looking over my shoulder, I saw that the Wendigo still chasing me, looking badly burnt, but still alive.

'Are you fucking kidding me?'

I ran as fast as I could, getting into the mines, but it was catching up. I cried out as I burst through a door. But before I could shut it, the creature burst through and pinned me to the ground. Then I heard it, a familiar voice that I wasn't expecting.

"HEY FATTY, OVER HERE!"

The creature shrieked and lifted its head towards the one who had shouted. It was then suddenly struck with a pipe, then again, for good measure. The flames faded and it finally went still. But that wasn't the end. At that moment, a strange form burst out of it and flew away.

I quickly recovered, closing the door, panting. Sam, for it was indeed her who rescued me, gasped for breath, too. I'd never been happier to see her in my life. I turned in amazement, as I was worried about her being here, now in great danger, just like me.

"Whoa...you alright?" I gasped.

Fighting for air, Sam laughed shortly. "Uhh, define 'alright.'"

I nodded understandingly. "Alive, for a start?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Sam replied. "Alive's good."

I shook my head. "The hell are you doing here, anyway?"

Sam bit her lip sheepishly before answering, "I was gonna warn you, about the Wendigos here."

"I think I got it." I replied with a short laugh. There must have been something amongst the old man's things which told her about that.

Sam agreed and I continued, "Let's go, let's find a way down to where this fucker lives."

Sam nodded, and with that, we both began searching for the Wendigo's den, and Josh.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	30. Sam VI

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 29 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
thedarkpokemaster: Thanks, yeah :)  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 29**

SAM POV

I shook my head as I walked alongside Mike, searching for Josh. I did my best to ignore the sticky feeling against my shins, how my yoga pants now stuck to my shins. I had reopened or gained fresh wounds to my legs as well as scratches on my right collarbone and up my neck a little. I also felt two large scrapes on my right cheekbone and above my left eyebrow.

Mike now sported a black eye, several scratches and scrapes, and was covered in grime. Neither of us said much at first, I guess we were both still reeling from our close encounter with the Wendigo.

"I was not prepared for how ugly that thing would be up close." I said at last.

"Yeah." Mike replied, hesitating briefly before continuing. "So, I noticed something kind of weird about it..."

I turned my head towards him, biting my lip, worried. "Uh...what?"

"The Wendigo, it had a scar."

"So?" I queried.

Mike sighed. "I've seen it before."

I stopped. "What are you talking about?"

"I saw these old pictures of some guy with that same scar – and he was transforming into a Wendigo." Mike explained.

I gasped. "You're kidding."

Mike nodded. "It was one of those miners who'd been trapped, back in the fifties, in the cave-in. Which means that thing is eighty years old, at least."

I shook my head and resumed walking. "Spunky for an old timer."

I just prayed that we'd find Josh soon, this was starting to fray even my nerves. I swore to myself, this was all crazy, it had been the scariest and most nerve-jarring night of my life. The things I'd seen, the things I'd felt and endured, and the feelings of violation I had felt were still lingering. I was drained, physically and mentally, but until I was able to help the others and get everybody out, I couldn't afford to rest. Mike was pushing on, despite being exhausted, so I had to do the same. I relied on my adrenaline to keep me going, at least for now.

"They cleaned the place out..." Mike said at last, continuing the earlier conversation. "Killed a lot of people."

"They?" I asked, suddenly realizing just what he said. "You mean, there are more of them?"

"Oh yeah."

"How many?" I asked worriedly.

Mike's answer didn't help, either. "Too many."

Suppressing a shudder, I thought for a moment. "I think we're close to the lair."

"How can you tell?" he asked, incredulous.

"I don't know, I just..." I replied, hesitantly. "Feel really terrible all of a sudden."

Mike sighed and replied honestly. "Ditto."

I shuddered and tried to focus on moving forward. Our path continued onward until we found ourselves at the edge of an underground lake, certainly going to be frigid cold.

"I really don't want to go in there." I muttered.

Mike shrugged. "There's no other way through."

I wasn't convinced. I decided to see if the path to the right could get us around. As we walked, however, my hopes soon died, but then I saw something else.

"Mike, is that what I think it is?" I asked warily.

"Shit..." he muttered. "looks like a grave."

Getting closer, we saw that it was indeed a grave, a grave that had been dug up. Something glinted in the center of it. I carefully stepped in and picked it up. Stepping back out of the grave, Mike and I examined the object. It was a wristwatch, engraved on the back of it were the initials BW.

I gasped, recognizing it. "Oh God...Mike, this is Beth's! This is her watch!"

"What? Let me see..." he replied, shocked.

I then noticed and pointed out, "Look, there was a cross here."

"So this is where she was buried."

"But..." I looked at the desecrated grave. "Who dug her up?"

Mike shuddered, disturbed. "Let's keep moving."

I quietly agreed and we returned to the ledge that we had approached earlier, by the waterside. As we stood by the water, I hesitated, but not due to my fear of going in. There was something on my mind.

"Mike, um...I need to talk to you." I said at last.

He turned. "Sam?"

"This isn't the best the time, but I don't see any other time that I might be able to say this." I knew that we could die down there, so I needed to say what I had to say, or I might not get another chance.

"Look, I'm just... After everything that's happened between you and...and Jess..."

"Sam, I... Look, I don't even know where to begin with that." he said quickly. "I...I messed up badly. I was selfish and stupid and, and look what's it's done. Look at what it cost me, or worse, look at what it cost Jess."

I bowed my head. "I know, Mike, I know. I just... Look, things are different now. I don't know if you noticed, but...you're different now, too. In the beginning, you were joking and charming, but now you're taking charge and getting us off this mountain."

Mike sighed. "Sam...you're brave to have followed me to the sanatorium and you even saved my life by killing that burning Wendigo that had me pinned to the ground. Emily and Jess would have never been brave enough to do all of that."

I started getting a strange feeling inside. "Well, you saved my life, too. When Josh had me tied to that chair in my towel, I didn't know what he was going to do to me, since I was almost naked and he wasn't in his right mind. When he revealed himself to us, I felt disgusted at the fact that Josh was watching me like that. So...thank you."

"No problem. It's clear that Josh was dangerous in more ways than one."

After a moment of silence, I said, "I thought we were close..."

"Huh?"

"Josh. I thought that he and I were close. I thought that we had a connection. After his sisters disappeared, he'd come and talk to me. He said that I was the only one who understood him and I thought that I was helping him get through that tough time...and he betrayed me. After everything that I did to help him, he spied on me and attacked me. I've never felt so hurt and angry in my life."

"Sam...I'm sorry. I feel for you, I really do. But I'm not like Josh. You don't have to worry, I would never betray your trust like that."

"I know, Mike. I believe you, since you've shown your bravery throughout the night and taken risks to save everybody that I've never seen any man do for me, and I just want you to know that we wouldn't have gotten this far without you. Everything you've done for the group, it's..."

I trailed off, getting that strange feeling again. Mike turned to me and I swore he looked, well, the same way that I probably did. I felt my face heating up and looked away.

"Sam, thank you. I...I just want you to know that I..." he hesitated.

I briefly wondered if he was going to say what I thought he would. But all the same, I quickly cut him off.

"Probably not the best time, Mike... We will get through this together." I said with confidence. "Let's...let's worry about it after this is all over."

He smiled, seemingly impressed with my confidence. "Alright, then. I'm glad to have you with me, Sam. Everything that you did, brave though they are, I don't think that any of the others could have managed that."

I just smiled, relieved. However, it was time to resume our search.

I cringed as I looked over the murky water before sitting down, Mike sitting next to me.

"Fine...I'm going in." I said at last.

But I hesitated. Mike just shook his head and slid into the water first. He waded forwards a few steps.

"Come on, it's okay." he said as reassuringly as he could.

I shook my head. "You sure?"

"I'm not dead yet."

"Famous last words." I replied casually. Still, I slid into the water and gasped audibly.

"It's freezing, I can't feel my fingers." I exclaimed.

Mike just nodded and we continued to wade through the water.

Suddenly, I felt myself panic as the floor sloped down sharply, causing the water to get higher. I was soon in water nearly up to my neck.

"Holy shit." Mike muttered. He wasn't quite as submerged.

Looking around worriedly, I spotted a ledge to my left and began making my way towards it in desperation.

"Wait a minute, I thought you'd reached the deepest part."

Mike shook his head. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw him turning to follow me.

"I didn't say that, I said it was okay, meaning like, there weren't any sharks or anything in here."

"Sharks." I groaned. "Great. Thank you!"

Rolling my eyes, I was relieved to find that the path to the ledge was sloping upwards. Reaching the ledge, I pulled myself out. Mike followed me and we looked around. Sadly, there was no way to go forward from there. I shuddered and groaned, but then I spotted something on the ground; it was a journal. I picked it up and began to read through it.

'This is Hannah's handwriting. Huh, what's this…?' I thought to myself, before reading the entry aloud.

"I'm sorry, Beth... I have no choice. It's the only way I can survive anymore. If someone finds this, I'm sorry. I had to... I had no choice."

"What does it mean? Jesus." Mike whispered.

Flipping through the journal, I reached the last page. It was a mess of scrawls and suddenly, a disturbing thought reached me.

"Oh God...It makes sense..." I turned to Mike. "I think...Hannah dug up Beth, it was Hannah!"

Mike froze, catching the double meaning of my words. "No, that's...that's ridiculous."

"Michael...Michael, it has to be. It's the only thing that makes sense. Beth died in the fall."

"So what, what does that mean?" he demanded.

"So Hannah must have buried her." I replied.

Mike shook his head, muttering in disbelief.

"Hannah was down here...for..."

I couldn't take it. The words I'd read raced through my head. Hannah, she had become...one of those monsters. Just the thought of it was too much. I felt myself breaking and before I knew it, I couldn't see because of my tears. The next thing I knew, Mike was holding me and I clung to him, desperate.

"Sam...Sam, I..." he whispered, clearly unsure.

I choked out the words, "Why, dammit? Why... Hannah, Beth... What kind of world does this…?"

Mike tightened his hold on me slightly. "Sam, I'm so sorry. I wish, I wish I could say something, anything to help, but..."

I nodded and felt myself being moved. When I pulled back, we were back near the water's edge.

"We should get away from here. What happened to them...we can't let it happen to us. None of us." he said at last.

I agreed quietly, knowing that there was only one way to do that. We needed to find Josh.

I wiped away my tears and we hurried back and slid back into the water, making our way across to the other side. It was then that something happened which worried us both.

"It's getting deeper."

I cringed. "Yeah, um..."

I was now up to my chin, but pushed on. A little further ahead, Mike spoke again, his words were a relief to me in the frigid water.

"Okay, okay, hey, it's sloping up again, we're gonna make it."

Relief flooded me but I replied in desperation, "Oh my god, don't jinx it!"

Finally, however, we made it to the other side and climbed out, much to our relief. Quickly gathering ourselves, we approached the metal door at the other end of the ledge. We attempted to open the door when it suddenly burst open! We reacted in surprise as water gushed from the door. Amongst the water, however, shocking us both and making me scream, was a decomposing head.

"Jesus, she...Jee..." Mike stammered.

We slid through the door, suddenly dreading what we were going to find. Inside, in varying states of decay, hanging from the ceiling on meat hooks, were bodies. One of them we recognized right away as the Stranger, even without his head. But then, two others.

"Shit...Matt, Emily…!" I cried.

They were both there, dead. Matt was suspended from the hook by his jaw. Emily was... Well, only half of her was hanging there. Everything below the waist was just gone. This was beyond horrible.

Still reeling from our discovery of the bodies, Mike suddenly spoke, looking through a gap in the boards. "Wait, hold on. I think I saw something."

I joined him and we looked carefully. At the other end, jabbering to himself, was Josh. I cried out his name as we found a door in the wooden wall and hurried through toward him.

"I don't take orders from you. You can't tell me what to do..." Josh was mumbling.

"Hey, hey, Josh!" Mike called out.

We both shared a worried glance as Josh continued jabbering. We watched as Josh seemed to not even see us.

"What's the matter with him, Mike?" I asked, concerned.

Mike shook his head, recalling the incident in the shed. "He's tripping or something. Josh!"

As he shouted, he smacked Josh in the face. Josh staggered and blinked.

"M...Mike?"

"Josh... Hey, man-" Mike replied, a little relived. He seemed himself again.

Josh shook his head, nearly whimpering. "Don't h-hit me, p-please-"

Mike shook his head. "You were deep in it, man. Full mental jacket."

"We didn't think we'd get you back..." I said softly. Then I bit my lip. It was hard, but I had to tell him the truth. "Josh... Hannah was down here for... weeks... a month?! She dug Beth up!"

Josh shook his head, perhaps unable to comprehend what I was saying.

Mike dissuaded me from continuing my explanation and instead suggested that we plan to find a way out. Josh handed over the key for the cable car when I asked and then I saw something. A light coming from above, from a cliff wall.

"See that over there?" I said quickly. "That means there's a direct way out. C'mon."

Mike shook his head. "There's no way that Josh is gonna make it up there."

Josh just nodded, still looking a little out of it.

I thought for a moment. "Okay, if you can help me up, I can go back to tell the others we're okay. You bring Josh back the way we came and we'll all meet at the lodge.

"Yeah. Yeah, good." Mike replied with a smile. "Be careful, Sam."

I nodded. "You, too."

With that, he gave me a boost and I began climbing the wall.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	31. Jess V

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 30 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
thedarkpokemaster: Yeah, now we reach the climax, things are picking up, glad you enjoyed it :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 30**

JESS POV

I bit back another sob, trying hard to focus through the pain. I could no longer hear that strange noise, but that didn't mean that I was alone. I needed to find a way out. But I was lost. I had no idea where to start, and it was so dark. I couldn't see a path.

'Please... Oh God, don't let this be the end...' I thought in dismay.

It was so hard to tell where the pain from one of my injuries stopped and the other began, everything just hurt. It was then that I heard the noise again. I wasn't sure what it was, and in my panic, I simply reacted. I grabbed the nearest thing I could; a shovel. I saw the shadow not too far away and approached. I moved as quietly as I could and, with all my strength, swung the shovel. Only for the figure, who had been turning at the time, suddenly illuminated by a lantern, to react and block the strike.

"No!" I screamed, staggering back, bolts of pain shooting through me.

The shovel had been so worn and rusty that it snapped in two. But then I realized that I recognized the figure and they recognized me. For at that moment, their eyes were wide with disbelief and joy.

"Jess! Holy shit, Jess, it's you."

I couldn't believe it, either. I barely choked the words out through rapidly forming tears. "Grant."

I never thought I'd see him again. Even through the haze of tears, that blue hair was unmistakable.

Grant shook his head, glancing at the wrecked shovel. "Nice to see ya, too... But Jess, what the hell happened? I thought you..."

I nodded, sniffling. "Yeah, I...I don't...I don't know it was..."

I was growing more distressed and, apparently seeing that, Grant nodded and held out his hand.

I stopped and, when he put his hand on my shoulder, flinched.

"Jess?"

I trembled and spoke. "Please don't...it just, hurts."

He bit his lip and nodded. "Ah, right. I...I'm sorry."

I shuddered again, overwhelmed with fear and sorrow. I definitely sounded childish, but the words just burst out. "I just wanna go home."

Grant, however, nodded understandingly. "I don't blame ya."

There was a lengthy pause as Grant looked around with the lantern, looking worried. I knew then that he could hear the noise, too.

"What is that?"

"I'm not sure I wanna know." he replied darkly, before shaking his head. "Ah, fuck. Jess, listen. We have to go, we have to get outta here. We'll find a way."

I looked up at him, hopeful. "Grant, I..."

He nodded. "We can do this together."

I nodded too, a strange tingling sensation briefly overcoming the pain. I wondered at its source and then remembered, at the cabin, that 'moment'. Something about it stuck with me and I wondered, I even hoped, that we might revisit that once we were safe, once everything stopped hurting so much.

I admit, one thing did amaze me; that Grant still seemed so at ease around me. I knew that I looked drastically different, covered in blood. I would certainly have massive scars across my face and chest and many others, too. Whatever that thing was, its claws ripped through my clothes and skin as if they were paper. The ratty old miner's coat and boots provided only some warmth, but it was better than the alternative. I was so pale now, I could see it and it scared me. My paleness only emphasized the blood even more. Finally, I was sure that my eyes were completely surrounded by dark shadow and were puffy.

We immediately began walking, Grant taking the lead, going slow for my sake. He nodded to me reassuringly. His hand twitched and I suppressed a smile. He wanted to take my hand, to make sure that I would stay with him, but was wary of hurting me further. We pressed on and made our way down the only path available; a tunnel by some rail tracks and tool stands. We walked in silence, except for my labored breathing. We turned and made our way down another tunnel, this one was mostly bare rock, until we reached some wooden walls. Suddenly, we heard the screech again, this time louder. It was getting closer.

"Huh?" Grant gasped.

I looked around, desperate. "Fuck."

Grant began to move quickly. "Jess, over here!"

He began to move faster. I tried follow but struggled to keep up. I stumbled, I couldn't run, the pain was too much. Grant stopped around looked around, seeking another way, finally spotting a gap in the wooden wall.

"Alright." he said at last. "Come on, Jess."

I followed him into the gap behind the wall and we pressed ourselves up against it. Grant gently motioned for me to stay quiet and I did my best, screwing my eyes shut against the agony ricocheting through my body. We could hear skittering and screeching behind us, and the ragged breathing of the creature. Then it began to fade as it moved away. Suddenly, I felt dizzy and began to stumble. Acting quickly, Grant caught me, making me cry out.

"Jeez..." he whispered, looking around. Nothing had heard us. "Shit, I'm sorry that I hurt you."

I could only respond with a choked gasp. "Oh God..."

"Alright, alright..." he said gently, letting me go once I could stand.

I shook my head. "Grant, I'm just slowing you down. Go...just get out of here. Escape..."

"Jess, no." he whispered. I began to reply but he cut me off. "No, Jess. I am not leaving you. We get out of here together, or not at all."

He then gently guided me out and we began to move down the tunnel, a lot more wary now. I was still in amazement at what I had heard, actually touched deeply by Grant's words. Grant quickened his pace slightly, but not to a run. I was still able to just about keep up.

"Let's go, we gotta do this, we gotta get out of here." he told me. "Come on, come on, come on, come on."

Urged on by him, I followed as quickly as I could. As we turned another corner, we heard the screeching again.

"Jess!" he cried out in a panic. "Jess, come on."

Looking back, we could see the creature leaping around the corner behind us. Grant then stopped, as did I. The path split, we could go left and continue, or we could try and break through the wooden boards to our right, where we could see light filtering in. Grant looked at me, he knew that I couldn't make it down the long path to the left, not with that thing so close behind. So he barged through the boards, breaking them.

"Whoa!" he cried as he nearly overbalanced, almost falling off the cliff.

We were outside now, the snow falling down. Seeing a ledge to our right as I joined him, we moved carefully over to it.

"Ugh..." I groaned as I felt the cold immediately bite into my body, adding great discomfort to my already agonized state. "Oh my god...Okaay..."

I edged up next to Grant and we stopped, staying as still as we dared. The creature leapt out and looked around, growling, but didn't seem to see us. It finally turned and leapt back into the depths of the mines. Grant let out a breath of relief and I slumped against the rock wall behind me, letting out a dry sob. We both looked up in relief at the rising sun and heard the blessed sound of approaching helicopters.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	32. Sam VII

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Chapter 31 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
thedarkpokemaster: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, yeah, well, here we go :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 31**

SAM POV

Gritting my teeth, I clambered up until I reached a ledge large enough to stand on. I bent over, hands on my knees as I gasped for breath. Recovering, I stood and looked upwards, biting my lip.

'Nearly there... Just this...last wall, then I'm up.' I told myself as I examined the final portion of wall I had yet to climb.

I knew that I couldn't delay any further, I had to get a move on. So, taking a risk, I jumped to grab one of the higher rocks. I caught it, was able to catch my foot in a niche, and then was able to grab another rock higher up and I pulled myself upwards. Looking around, I spotted an overhanging rock above my head. Tensing my muscles, I launched myself up again, grabbing onto it. I hauled myself upwards until I had a good grip on the surface of the wall, my feet now also secure, with one on top of the overhang.

"Ugh..." I grunted with the effort. "Come on."

I looked up. I was very nearly at the top, just a little further and I would be at the surface. I climbed around, grabbing a nearby branch, set my foot properly, and then grabbed the ledge above. I hauled myself up and then, panting breathlessly, I stood, up on the surface. I was in the forest again with the snow falling around me. Shivering, I blew on my hands, trying to warm them up.

I shook my head. 'Pity these clothes weren't suitable for this kind of weather. Still, I just have to bear it, I'm nearly there.'

I knew the way back now, I could see the lodge in the distance and, closer by, the shed. I immediately began walking, standing still wouldn't help me, I'd just freeze.

'Although, if a Wendigo comes along, it'll be my best defense...freezing to death.' I thought with a touch of dark humor. 'I don't think they'd like a Sam popsicle.'

I reached a brief divergence in the path, but both seemed to lead the same way, so I choose the right path and followed it. When they finally met, I stopped.

"Oh man..." I groaned.

I was at a lake. I'd have to wade across. Just when I thought that I was done with that, just when I had finally dried off. Shaking my head, I dropped down into the lake and shrieked from the cold that instantly bit into my skin, soaking my clothes. I cringed and forced myself onward, wading through the water towards the other end when suddenly, I heard a loud noise. I paused and looked around, but nothing happened.

'Oh please don't say I'm getting paranoid now.' I thought worriedly.

Composing myself, I continued until I reached the other end and climbed out. Shivering uncontrollably, I moved onward, wrapping my arms around myself. I didn't dare stop until I reached a high ledge. I saw only one way down. Taking a deep breath, I began to slide down, but lost control.

"Whoa..." I cried out. "Oh, shit!"

I grunted in pain as I reached the bottom, only to fall hard on the ground on my stomach. Groaning, I pushed myself upwards, I had to keep moving.

My walk was interrupted by the screech of a Wendigo, loud, as if it was nearby. Instantly, panic seized me. I was so close, I was at the shed.

I quickly made up my mind. 'Crap, gotta take the risk.'

I immediately took off running, going straight for the lodge. I looked over my shoulder desperately, fearful of the pursuit. Looking forwards again, I barely had any time to react before ducking under the tree log.

"Shit!" I cried at my close call.

I quickly stopped, scoping out the area. I couldn't hear any more signs of pursuit, but I still had to get to the lodge quickly. I continued to run, jumping down the next ledge and over a broken jar in the path. The lodge was within sight now. I ran up the stairs and onto the porch and made straight for the door. But it was locked, I couldn't open it.

"HEY! HEY! COME ON, OPEN UP!" I cried out in a panic. "GUYS, COME ON! ARE YOU IN THERE? LET ME IN!"

"Sam-"

I screamed and spun around.

"Shit, Mike!" I cried in relief. He had made it! Thank God he was alright. Then I really looked at him. "Oh gosh, you look terrible-"

Mike shook his head. "Gonna look worse if we stay out here. Come on!"

I looked around. There was no other way around it. I quickly picked up a rock from the ground and used it to smash one of the glass panes in the door. Through it, I was able to reach in and unlock the door. Mike and I quickly entered the lodge, stopping to catch our breaths.

It was then that I realized Mike was alone. "Okay...Mike, w-what happened to Josh?" I asked fearfully.

Mike shook his head sadly. "It got him."

I grimaced. "Oh God, what an awful way to go..."

I shook my head and, acting automatically, flipped the lights on, but Mike quickly turned them back off, shaking his head. I quietly agreed and, after a brief discussion, we began making our way down to the basement, checking for the others.

"How do you rate our chances of survival?" I asked nervously.

Mike sighed. "I'm trying not to think about it."

It was then that we heard the screams. The door to the basement was open and we could see Chris and Ashley running for their lives. Despite his injured leg, Chris was in the lead. Probably due to Ashley practically pushing him forwards whenever he slowed.

"GET OUTTA HERE, GO, GO, GO!" he cried out.

"GO, RUN!" Ashley screamed.

We soon saw what they were running from as two Wendigos appeared and began approaching the door.

"Sam..." Mike called, "Run...RUN!"

He turned and ran. I, however, quickly darted forwards and pulled the door shut, locking it. I heard the thumping as the Wendigos began striking at it. I just prayed that it would buy us some time as I ran after the others.

As I reached the top of the stairs, I stopped dead. The others were already standing, rigid and terrified.

"Don't...move..." Mike whispered to me. "Don't fucking move a muscle."

I had no intentions of moving. For there, hanging from the large chandelier decoration in the middle of the great room, was a Wendigo. I did my best not to move, which was no easy task after my trip through the icy lake.

The Wendigo snarled and partially turned. It was then that my sharp eyes caught it. I heard Mike gasp and I knew that he had seen it, too. I had been right all along. For there, on the Wendigo's right shoulder, was a black butterfly tattoo.

'Hannah...'

Just then, we heard skittering and went tense all over again. The other two Wendigos were now there. Wendigo Hannah saw their movements and growled. As one of the Wendigos leapt somewhere out of sight, the other approached the middle of the room, just as Hannah leapt down and immediately tackled it. Soon the two were struggling for dominance and I quickly glanced around. Mike was a few feet to my right, the others were further away, near the door, but spaced out. There was no way that we could all make it out together, not like this.

Suddenly, the Wendigo screeched as Hannah threw it into the stairs, breaking them, and then against the fireplace. Mike's eyes widened when he saw the damage, and also a chance. He had to be thinking the same thing that I was. The Wendigo recovered and climbed the wall. Hannah quickly followed, both of them screeching and snapping at each other.

Mike's eyes were fixed on the broken gas pipe, leaking gas into the room. Right now, killing them was the only option left. It wouldn't be easy, we'd need someone to ignite the gas and whoever did it would more than likely be incinerated, too. Looking around, I also spotted a bare light bulb. If we could just break it, we'd have the means to make a spark. The light switch was right by the door. Mike was looking around, also noticing these things. He glanced over at me and I nodded in agreement. We had a plan, now we just needed to put it into action.

The Wendigos resumed their fight until Hannah threw the Wendigo she had been attacking away. The Wendigo that had disappeared from sight returned, leaping at her as she responded in kind. Both of them collided in mid air and fell to the ground and Hannah soon recovered. Seizing the other Wendigo by the head, she smashed him repeatedly into the ground before simply pulling his head off. Throughout this, Mike had been slowly edging his way towards the light bulb. Meanwhile, I stepped back, shocked and awed by the raw display of power, and terrified by it. I knew that if Hannah or any of the other Wendigos got a hold of me or any of the others, it was over for us. There would be no wriggling free, no last minute reprieve, just a quick, messy and extremely painful death.

*CREAK*

I froze as I stepped on the floorboard. 'Crap.'

I immediately went still as Hannah turned to me and screeched. I remained as still as possible, no easy task due to my recent cold swim. My muscles were aching to shiver, but I couldn't afford to. I resisted and resisted while Hannah stalked towards me, snarling. Mike took advantage of this moment to reach the light bulb and, grunting with effort, squeezed it until it broke. The sound made Hannah screech again and spin around. I looked over desperately to where the others were.

They were too spaced out, they couldn't all escape at once. The lodge was still filling with gas and the explosion would be dangerous enough without the rest of the group being in danger. Chris was nearest to the door and, at the moment, had the best chance. Catching his eye, I nodded and, taking the hint, he quickly darted for the door, making it out of the lodge and to safety...I hoped.

'Just gotta find a way to keep Hannah distracted...so that Ashley can escape, then it's just me and Mike...and our plan.' I thought to myself.

Mike cringed as he looked back from where he had broken the light bulb, thus readying it. Hannah was approaching him, since she had turned her attention to him. I thought frantically, I had to act before it was too late. With the light bulb broken, we only needed to flick the switch and the building would explode. But I couldn't do that yet, not with two of my friends still inside. They'd be incinerated in the blast. I wasn't even sure that I had a chance to survive it, much less anyone else.

I saw Hannah closing in on Mike. 'Got to do something now...distract her, anything.'

I knew it was risky, it would allow more gas to fill the room, the explosion would be larger, but that was a risk that I had to take. I could only see one option; I had to get the Wendigo's attention back on myself.

"HEY!" I cried out as loud as I could, at the same time, running to a nearby pillar and pressing myself against it, making as much noise as possible.

With another screech, Hannah turned and stalked towards me. I did my utmost to stay still, despite the chill that seeped through my skin. I also prayed that the gas interfered with the Wendigo's sense of smell. It would be a bonus if it did. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ashley making her escape. It was just me and Mike now.

As Hannah turned and stalked away, I looked out and saw Mike. I needed another distraction. We were almost there now. I darted to another section of the wall and hid. Hannah turned again and drew closer, closer than ever before, her face mere inches from the side of mine. I screwed my eyes shut tight, staying as rigid as I could, despite the overwhelming desire to shiver, and despite the rancid breath of the Wendigo as it screamed right in my ear. Despite everything, I remained where I was. Hannah turned away and began to edge further into the room. Glancing out, I saw Mike right by the door. I nodded to him and he slowly, hesitantly, exited. Now it was my turn.

Taking a deep breath, I did the only thing I could; I ran straight for the light switch. I heard the screeching and knew that the other Wendigo was chasing me. Desperation pumped massive amounts of adrenaline through my veins. I ran faster, everything pounding through my body. The beast behind me screeched louder. I didn't dare look, but I caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye, where Hannah had been, and then heard the fighting. Hannah had attacked the other Wendigo.

'Now or never!'

With a yell, I leapt forwards, hitting the light switch and propelling myself out the door. The explosion was deafening and made me grunt as the force of it hit me, causing me to be thrown forwards.

Inside, the Wendigos were incinerated. Outside, I groaned and slowly picked myself up from where I had landed in the snow. Mike slowly stood, too. Ashley and Chris were seated nearby. We stood, watching the lodge burn in silence as the sun rose, bringing daylight at last, and with it, the sound of helicopters approaching. I was so relieved, that I didn't resist. I just gave into my natural instincts.

I leaned against Mike as he wrapped his arms around me. I let out a slow, shaky breath as we held each other, more grateful than anything as his touch allowed warmth to spread through my body. The nightmare was over. We were together and alive.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	33. Epilogue

**Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness**

Last chapter of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

 **Reviews**

 **Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

 **Epilogue**

It still felt surreal, even after so many days had passed. But now, here they were. Sam and Mike stood just inside the hospital reception, waiting. Following their rescue from Blackwood, they had been interviewed by the police and had to share their story, despite the obvious skepticism.

'But then I just...had to say that to them, didn't I?' Sam thought guiltily.

She had told them to go to the mines, that they would find all of the proof there, and they did just that. Finding more than they bargained for, Josh, it turned out, hadn't been killed by Hannah after all, but had been taken and was in the process of turning into a Wendigo himself when the police arrived. Sam shuddered, trying not to think about that.

She instead focused on how things were now. It was an amazing moment for them, when they found out about Jess and Grant, that they had both survived. Mike could scarcely believe it. It was during those days, as they were treated for their injuries and tried to recover, that he and Jess spoke to each other, trying to clear the air. There were a lot of issues that were still unresolved. Thankfully, now, they were. Perhaps seeing the change in Mike, as Sam had seen, Jess had finally, after much effort, forgiven him and even seemed happy for Sam and Mike.

Meanwhile, in the days that followed, they had noticed Jess and Grant becoming closer. Now they were an official couple. Mike and Sam had confessed their feelings for one another during that time, too. Their ordeal together on the mountain had brought them together. Josh's words rang in Sam's mind as she realized that he was right. A traumatic event can cause two people to bond and bring them together, and it had happened for all six of them.

Now they were waiting for Jess, who was finally being released from hospital. Grant would be with her and Chris and Ashley were waiting outside for them. It was still hard on them all, and yet they always found it easier when they were all together; the survivors.

Mike and Sam smiled as they saw Jess and Grant walking towards them at last. Jess looked a lot happier too, finally free of the hospital. Even her scars didn't look as pronounced as before. Joining up, they headed outside to join Chris and Ashley, all relieved that they had escaped the nightmare. While the memories may still haunt them, they would all face it together, with the person that they love as a light in the darkness.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.

Now, most importantly, I'd like to give a big thank you to PokemonFreak90 who very generously beta read all these chapters for me and helped me in coming up with the details and such for the idea :)


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